Obama administration tries to dampen dispute with allies over Iran

Edited by Naved Khan Saturday, May 29, 2010 12:24 PM

Washington (CNN) -- Even as the United States pushes at the United Nations for sanctions against Iran's nuclear program, three senior administration officials, in a hastily scheduled briefing for reporters, tried late Friday to tamp down a dispute with two allies over the Islamic Republic. The dispute sprang from a high-profile diplomatic foray on May 17, in which Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a fuel swap agreement with Iran. Under the deal, Tehran agreed to hand over nearly half its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for medium-enriched uranium needed for a nuclear reactor that produces medical isotopes." Such a fuel swap is part of a series of plans Western nations have proposed to persuade Iran to stop enriching uranium, which the United States and other nations fear it will use to make nuclear weapons. Iran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful.


Within hours of signing the agreement in May, however, Iran announced that it would continue to enrich some uranium. Later, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dismissed the pact, saying Brazil, which brokered the agreement, was being "used" by Tehran.


The Brazilian media this week published a letter, dated nearly a month before the agreement was signed, from President Barack Obama to the presidents of Brazil and Turkey outlining the points he considered necessary for a fuel swap agreement. In the letter, Obama said, "I question whether Iran is prepared to engage Brazil in good faith." The officials tempered their criticism, saying Brazil and Turkey were "genuinely looking for a way to make progress" and that the United States recognizes "the sincere efforts made by Brazil and Turkey." But, one added, "unfortunately, the motives of their partners (Iran) were quite different." They also told reporters the April 20 letter was "not intended as negotiating instructions." Read more....

0 Response to "Obama administration tries to dampen dispute with allies over Iran"

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)