Iran welcomes Arab uranium proposal but says it won't stop enrichment

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iran welcomed a recent Arab proposal to set up a consortium to provide Mideast countries with enriched uranium but said it would not halt its own enrichment activities, the official news agency IRNA reported. "We welcome proposals for our participation in joint enrichment projects with other countries, but it won't be acceptable if the condition is to stop enrichment in Iran," IRNA quoted Javad Vaeedi, a top nuclear negotiator, as saying Saturday. Vaeedi was responding to a proposal outlined Thursday by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal under which Arab states in the Persian Gulf would set up a consortium to provide Iran with enriched uranium to help resolve the country's standoff with the West over its controversial nuclear program.