Iranian president says fuel-swap deal is an opportunity for US, its allies

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Iran: fuel swap deal is one-time opportunity

ISTANBUL — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that a nuclear swap deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil was a one-time opportunity to resolve his nation’s standoff with the West, days before the U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on new sanctions.

Ahmadinejad told reporters on the sidelines of an Asian security summit that new sanctions would be a mistake and President Barack Obama stands to lose unless he changes his policies toward Iran.

The leaders of Iran, Turkey and Brazil met in Tehran last month and proposed a deal for Iran to deposit 2645 pounds (1,200 kilograms) of lightly enriched uranium in Turkey in exchange for 120 kilograms of fuel that it can use for its research reactor. The deal was meant to forestall Iran’s ability to produce highly enriched uranium that could be used to produce nuclear warheads.

U.S. officials have criticized the agreement, in part because it does not stop Iran from continuing to enrich uranium. The U.S. also says the deal is a ploy by Iran to delay new international sanctions.

Turkey and Brazil, both non-permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, are now pressing for an open “political debate” on the broader Iranian nuclear issue before a vote on new sanctions.

“The meeting in Tehran created an opportunity for the U.S. administration and for its allies and we still hope that they will be able to use this opportunity,” Ahmadinejad said in reference to the nuclear swap deal that was reached in Tehran and that aims to address international concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. “We say that this opportunity will not be repeated.”

“Unless their policies change, Obama will be the first to lose, and then the U.S. government,” the Iranian president added.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote soon to punish Tehran for its refusal to heed demands to curb its nuclear program. The final version of the resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, would ban Iran from pursuing “any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons,” bar Iranian investment in activities such as uranium mining, and prohibit Iran from buying several categories of heavy weapons including attack helicopters and missiles.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told reporters in Istanbul “we have worked hard and consider that the resolution is practically agreed upon.” President Dmitry Medvedev last week used the same phrase to characterize the position of the Security Council on Iran.

Russia has traditionally taken a softer stance on Iran, a longtime trade partner, than the West, and Putin called for any sanctions to be restrained.

“Russia is not of the opinion that these resolutions should be excessive and put Iran and the Iranian leadership — not to mention the Iranian people — in an awkward position that would place barriers in the way of peaceful atomic energy,” he said.

Putin also announced that the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which Russia is constructing for Iran, should come online by August.

Russia signed a $1 billion contract in 1995 for building the Bushehr plant, but it has dragged its feet on completing the project for years. Moscow has cited technical reasons for the delays, but analysts said Moscow has used the project to press Tehran to ease its defiance over its nuclear program.

Complicating the relationship further is the stalled delivery of Russian modern defensive anti-air missiles.

Russia signed a 2007 contract to sell the powerful S-300 missiles to Tehran but so far has not handed them over. Russian officials have recently commented that Moscow is unwilling to further destabilize the region by delivering the S-300 missiles, which would strengthen Iran against military intervention from the West.

Hours earlier, Ahmedinejad warned Russia against supporting new sanctions on his country.

“They must be careful not to side with enemies of the Iranian nation,” he said. “They should make a choice.”

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Associated Press Writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, David Nowak in Moscow and Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed.