Iran offers to dilute 60% uranium if US lifts all sanctions: nuclear chief
Top Iranian security official to visit Oman ahead of next round of nuclear talks with the US.
Iran is prepared to dilute its highly enriched uranium if the United States lifts all sanctions on the country, the head of its atomic energy agency said Monday after talks resumed with Washington.
"In conclusion, in response to a question about the possibility of diluting 60 percent enriched uranium... the head of the Atomic Energy Organization said that this depends on whether all sanctions would be lifted in return," the official IRNA news agency reported, referring to agency chief Mohammad Eslami, without specifying whether this included all sanctions on Iran or only those imposed by the United States.
Diluting uranium means mixing it with blend material to reduce the enrichment level, so that the final product does not exceed a given enrichment threshold.
Iran's top security official, meanwhile, is set to visit Muscat on Tuesday, IRNA reported.
Ali Larijani, who heads Iran's Supreme National Security Council, will meet with senior Omani officials to discuss the latest regional and international developments, as well as bilateral cooperation, the report said.
While Iranian media have not specified the agenda of Larijani's visit, sources said he is expected to discuss the contours of the next round of talks with the Omani mediators.
The timing and venue of the next round of talks have not yet been confirmed. Sources say Larijani is also expected to discuss and determine these details with the Omani officials.
The visit takes on added significance as Iran and the US prepare for the next round of negotiations, which resumed in Muscat on Friday after nearly eight months of suspension.
The indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington were halted following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June last year, during which the US targeted three key Iranian nuclear sites.