Ahmadinejad Accepts Nuke Deal

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told state-controlled TV that he’d have “no problem” with complying with an earlier deal to send Iran’s uranium abroad for enrichment, to prevent the country from weaponizing the nuclear material. If true, it represents a major reversal in Iran’s policy, though Western officials remain skeptical. Americans said if Iran is serious, it should alert the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. Several months ago, Iran, the IAEA, and the P5+1 (the U.S., Russia, China, U.K., France plus Germany) agreed to have Iran send 70 percent of its low-enriched uranium to France and Russia, where it would be turned into fuel rods to be used for research purposes. Then Tehran seemed to go back on the agreement, publicly criticizing its terms—especially a waiting period between sending the material and getting it back as fuel. But in his interview, Ahmadinejad said that was no longer a concern.