Iran has made a proposal that would significantly lower plutonium production at a planned reactor, a senior Iranian official was quoted as saying, Reuters reported on Friday, April 11th, signaling a major retreat on Iran’s part.
The fate of the heavy-water plant is one of the central issues in negotiations between Iran and six major powers.
Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China on Wednesday ended their last round of negotiation in Vienna and said they would start drafting an agreement at their next meeting there on May 13. But officials said significant gaps needed to be bridged.
The West is worried that Arak could provide a supply of plutonium – one of two materials, along with highly enriched uranium, that can trigger a nuclear blast.
Heavy-water reactors like Arak, fuelled by natural uranium, are seen as especially suitable for yielding plutonium.
Arak – located about 250 km (150 miles) southwest of Tehran – could produce about nine kg of plutonium annually, the U.S. Institute for Science and International Security says.