Diplomats: Iran agrees to draft deal on uranium

By GEORGE JAHN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 7:17 AM

VIENNA -- The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has agreed to a draft deal on its nuclear program.

In addition, diplomats say the deal would see the country ship out most of its enriched uranium to Russia, stripping Tehran of most of the material it would need to make a nuclear weapon.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Wednesday that Iran and the U.S., Russia and France have signed off on a draft deal that he hoped would be approved by the nations' capitals by Friday.

He gave no details. But a diplomat inside the closed meeting told The Associated Press that the draft foresees the export most of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium.

Iran says it is enriching to provide fuel for a future network of nuclear reactors. But enriched uranium can also be used to make the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

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