Obama Rejects Turkish-Brazilian Brokered Deal on Iranian Nuclear Fuel, Moves Toward U.N. Sanctions

Interview with Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian-American Council, conducted by Scott Harris

After years of confrontation between Washington, its allies and Iran over the intentions of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, Brazil and Turkey negotiated an agreement that they hoped would defuse the long-running standoff. Under the terms of the deal announced on May 17, Iran would ship 2,640 pounds of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium to Turkey, and receive in exchange more highly-enriched uranium that would produce isotopes used in medical procedures. The higher grade uranium from Russia and France would be used in an Iranian reactor under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. While Washington accuses Iran of developing the technology to produce nuclear weapons, the Iranian government maintains its nuclear program is intended for civilian generation of electric power.

But the Obama administration has rejected the Brazilian-Turkish agreement, saying that Iran would be allowed to continue its enrichment program in violation of U.N. resolutions and retain control of enough uranium to make a nuclear bomb, something that was not the case under a similar deal proposed by Washington in October. Iran responded that it would walk away from the Brazilian-Turkish deal if the U.S. pursued new U.N. sanctions.

President Obama is under pressure to get tough with Iran, given that Congress is poised to pass harsh sanctions of its own against Iran that could derail future U.S.-Iranian negotiations. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Jamal Abdi, policy director with the National Iranian-American Council who examines the consequences of President Obama's decision to reject the Brazilian-Turkish agreement with Iran on its uranium stockpile.

Contact the National Iranian-American Council at (202) 386-6325 or visit their website at www.niacouncil.org

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