Israel Matzav

The offer to Iran is still on the table

When I was young, this was a symbol of something that was overdone. Let's go to the videotape.



Yes, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead, and the IAEA offer to Iran to trade its low enriched uranium for a higher enriched model is still on the table.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told Reuters the proposal, which would involve Iran sending its low enriched uranium abroad in exchange for more highly enriched fuel to produce medical isotopes, "still can be on the table."

He was speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, shortly after Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency which brokered the draft deal on enriched uranium, told reporters in the Swiss ski resort that the offer remained.

"The proposal is on the table. Dialogue is continuing," Amano said in his first public remarks on the standoff since he succeeded Mohamed ElBaradei two months ago.

He left unclear whether "dialogue" meant the IAEA was actively exploring compromises with Iran and world powers. Western officials have stopped short of declaring the plan dead but said Tehran's approach had not been serious.

What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:04 PM