Iran Rejects Nuclear Deal With West

The L.A. Times reports that "Iran's response Thursday to a proposed deal to transform its controversial nuclear material into fuel for a medical reactor is 'inadequate,' a senior Western diplomat said, adding that it failed to address key United States and European concerns about Iran's nuclear intentions. Iran answered the proposal to temporarily move most of its enriched uranium to Russia and France to be further refined and shaped for use in a medical reactor after a delay of nearly a week and a flurry of contradictory signals. The proposal would have depleted Iran's stockpile of nuclear fuel below the threshold necessary for making a single nuclear bomb, possibly creating diplomatic breathing room for a broader agreement between Tehran and those worried about its atomic research program. But according to the diplomat, Iran wants to send its uranium abroad in smaller batches over an undetermined stretch of time rather than the lump transfer by year's end outlined under the proposal offered by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei. Such a change would allow Iran to quickly replenish its stock. Further disappointing the West, Iran did not submit a formal written response as expected, the diplomat said. Instead, Iran's envoy to the atomic energy agency, Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, described the offer to ElBaradei." Tweet