Russia has renewed an offer to “resolve the issue of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles”, as speculation mounts of a fresh round of US-Iran peace talks in the coming days, state media reported on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia could help convert Iran’s highly enriched uranium to fuel grade or storing material “in ways acceptable to Iran without infringing its right to peaceful enrichment,” reported state news agency TASS.

Iran’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium -–– seen a precursor to being able to build a nuclear weapon –– are a key point of contention in negotiations between the US and Iran to end the war.

The US has demanded Iran end its enrichment program and insisted on the retrieval of the estimated 460 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that’s believed to be buried underground, a White House official has told CNN.

Both sides proposed a suspension of Iranian enrichment during the Islamabad talks last weekend, but US President Donald Trump has since said he doesn’t like the idea of a pause, preferring a complete stop.

Moscow previously helped deal with enriched uranium from Iran as the Obama-era nuclear deal –– known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) –– came into force.

Russia would accept any decision by Iran regarding enriched uranium in the peace talks, Lavrov said, but his affirmation of Iran’s “right to peaceful enrichment” lines up with Tehran’s long-stated position that it only wants to enrich uranium for power stations and peaceful purposes.

Lavrov, speaking after a visit to China where he met its leader Xi Jinping, said Russia was also offering energy to China and other countries scrambling for supply, due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, TASS reported.

Source: CNN
-- Agencies