Assad supports swap plan on Iran nuke row

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Wednesday threw his support behind a deal jointly brokered by Turkey and Brazil to resolve the controversy over Iran's nuclear program, calling it "fundamental" to any peaceful solution. Assad's comments came on a tour of Latin America, after meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Turkey, Brazil and Iran announced the deal on May 17 in Tehran. Under the agreement, Iran agreed to send 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in return for uranium enriched up to 20 percent, for use in a nuclear research reactor. But the deal failed to prevent a new round of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on Iran.