Iran warming to Turkish role in nuke dispute

Tehran said on Tuesday it is ready to swap its low-enriched uranium for nuclear fuel abroad, noting that Japan, Turkey, Brazil and Kish Island in the Persian Gulf have been proposed as locations for the exchange of fuel, but said nothing is certain yet. Iran is ready for a "fuel swap in several stages and has said that this can be an opportunity for the two sides" to build confidence, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters, while insisting that the exchange should take place in several stages. Asked about these remarks, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Burak Ozugergin said yesterday that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has been holding talks on the issue with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki as well as with US and other countries' officials on a regular basis. "That is to say, Turkey is completely in the picture, and is in it in a way to shape the details as well," he said. He stressed that Turkey's position on the issue has not been passive but active, and that senior leaders, including President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as Davutoglu, have been "in the picture." Ozugergin also reiterated that Turkey firmly favors dialogue, not military means or sanctions, to resolve the issue. Less than a week ago, Mottaki said Iran is open to exchanging uranium on Turkish soil. "We are not opposed to carrying out the exchange of 400 kilos of uranium with 3.5 purity on Turkish soil or any other soil. But cooperation should be on both sides," he was quoted as saying.