Iran agrees to suspend uranium enrichment programme

IRAN yesterday agreed to suspend its uranium enrichment programme in an attempt to ease concerns that it has ambitions to develop atomic weapons.

A western diplomat close to the United Nations said a deal had been struck with Tehran and a letter had been sent to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog.

Hassan Rohani, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, said the suspension would remain in place as long as talks with the EU continued on a final resolution of Iran’s nuclear case.

The diplomatic source said that Iran had agreed to all points covered in an agreement hammered out by the two sides in Paris last weekend. "We have reached a full agreement regarding all the issues mentioned in the package," he said.

The announcement comes after weeks of negotiations between Iran and France, Britain and Germany, and on the eve of a UN report on its two-year investigation of Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Several other diplomats confirmed the deal, though none was able to confirm any specifics about the scope and duration of the freeze.

Diplomats in Tehran said that ambassadors from the EU big three were meeting with Mr Rohani to discuss the suspension.

"We have reviewed all the details and made our decision and Rohani will inform the ambassadors of our decision," Mr Rohani’s deputy, Hossein Mousavian, said.

Iran, which denies accusations by the United States that it is secretly building nuclear weapons, had been expected to announce the suspension last week.

But negotiations ran into problems when Tehran objected to the scope of the suspension the EU was demanding, diplomats say. The EU wants Iran to freeze all nuclear fuel cycle work but Iran wants to continue the early stages of uranium conversion.

The EU has warned Iran that it will back US calls for Iran’s case to be sent to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions to be enforced if the suspension is not in place before the IAEA’s board meeting on 25 November.