Manila: Iran on Thursday said it was open to more talks but offered no concessions after rejecting a Western proposal for it to send most of its stocks of low-enriched
uranium abroad in return for nuclear fuel.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, speaking to reporters at the end of an overnight visit to the Philippines, also dismissed the prospects of more sanctions even as US President Barack Obama warned of the "consequences" of Tehran's stance.
He said Iran had broached to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei the idea of a simultaneous exchange of uranium for fuel, instead of the Western proposal that Iran export more than 70 percent of its stocks before receiving any nuclear fuel in return.
"We raised to Mr ElBaradei of the IAEA and the other sides the suggestion regarding the swap of the fuel, and within that framework we reviewed the swapping and exchanging of that fuel within the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the form of a straight swap," Mottaki said.
"If they insist on this suggestion we could discuss and work within the framework."
The UN nuclear watchdog, which has been brokering the negotiations, has already said that idea is unacceptable to the Western powers.
Shortly after the foreign minister's comments in Manila, Obama, who is visiting South Korea, declared that Washington and its partners were now discussing "consequences" in the form of toughened sanctions on Iran.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, November 19, 2009, 19:49