By Fredrik Dahl and Hossein Jaseb
Senior Iranian lawmakers voiced firm opposition on Saturday to a UN-drafted nuclear fuel deal, casting further doubt on a proposal aimed at easing international tension over Tehran's atomic activities.
Under the US-backed plan, Iran would send most of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for further processing to turn it into more refined fuel for a Tehran research reactor.
The West's priority is to reduce Iran's LEU stockpile to prevent any danger that the Islamic Republic might turn it into the highly enriched uranium needed for a nuclear bomb.
'They are not proposing modifications ...' But politicians in Iran, which says its nuclear programme is a peaceful drive to produce electricity, have voiced deep misgivings about the idea of parting with the bulk of what is seen as a strategic asset and a strong bargaining chip.
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Several MPs have said Iran should buy the reactor fuel it needs rather than send its own uranium out of the country.
"The demand that we should deliver all enriched nuclear material to other countries so that they would supply Tehran's fuel needs is completely out of the question," ILNA news agency quoted MP Kazem Jalali as saying. He is the spokesman of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee.
The committee's head Alaeddin Boroujerdi echoed that view.
"We are completely opposed to the proposal on delivering uranium with 3.5 percent enrichment in exchange for uranium with 20 percent enrichment," ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.
"There is no guarantee they would give us fuel with 20 percent enrichment in exchange for our delivered LEU," he said.
On Friday, diplomats said Iran had told the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it wants fresh fuel for the Tehran reactor before it will agree to ship most of its enriched uranium stocks to Russia and France.
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