UN chief says Iran should accept uranium plan

Source: Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon encouraged Iran on Wednesday to accept a U.N.-drafted plan to ship much of its uranium abroad for enrichment, saying it would be "an important confidence-building measure."

Iranian lawmaker Mohammad Karamirad said the government will formally respond on Thursday to the proposal to send enriched uranium out of the country for processing, according to the semiofficial ISNA news agency. Another Iranian lawmaker, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said the country's top security body would make a final decision on the proposal later Wednesday.

Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment has led to three rounds of increasingly tough U.N. sanctions. Tehran insists its program is purely peaceful and defends the right to develop fuel for electricity-generating reactors.

Even as the Iranian government mulls the deal for shipping uranium abroad, it has made clear it will push ahead with its nuclear program and continue enriching uranium.

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