W.House cautious on Iran-Russia nuclear deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House reacted skeptically
on Monday to reports that Iran had reached an agreement with
Russia on a proposed joint venture to enrich uranium in Russia.

Russia’s original proposal — welcomed by the White House
– had been for Iran’s uranium to be enriched in Russia to
defuse suspicions that Iran might divert some nuclear fuel into
a weapons program.

However, Iran has always insisted upon its right to enrich
the uranium it mines in its central desert on its own soil, and
it was uncertain how the original Russian proposal could be
tailored to please Tehran.

It was unclear what the new agreement announced in Iran on
Sunday involved.

“We’ll see, but given their history you can understand why
we remain skeptical,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan
said of Iran.

Alarmed by Iran’s resumption of nuclear fuel research,
including some small-scale enrichment, and curbs on inspectors’
access to suspected sites, Western nations are expected to call
for Iran to be referred to the U.N. Security Council at a March
6 meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.
atomic watchdog.

“We’ll see what happens with the discussions with Russia
but our concerns are very well known,” McClellan said.

He said Iran needed to suspend all enrichment activities as
required by the IAEA, noting that he had seen comments from an
Iranian official suggesting Iran will continue to conduct some
enrichment activities in Iran.

“The international community has expressed their concerns
about the regime’s intentions. We are concerned about Iran
pursuing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian program.
and the regime has shown that it cannot be trusted,” McClellan
said.