'US to present new nuclear negotiation terms to Iran'

According to the 'New York Times,' Obama administration set to present a tougher offer fuel swap offer than last year.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Ahmadinejad visits Natanz 311 (photo credit: Associated Press)
Ahmadinejad visits Natanz 311
(photo credit: Associated Press)
The Obama administration is planning to offer new terms for negotiation with Iran, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
The new offer would reportedly be even more strict than the one that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected last year.
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The US will be able to test whether sanctions have affected Iran's nuclear policy by analyzing the country's response to an offer reportedly requiring them to send over 4,400 pounds of low-enriched uranium out of the country. Iran would also have to stop producing nuclear fuel that is enriched to 20 percent, and agree to negotiate on the nuclear program's future.
The amount of uranium to send out of Iran is over two-thirds greater than the amount requested in Vienna last year. This is because of the amount of uranium Iran has produced over the past year, and is part of America's goal to make sure Iran has less than one bomb's worth of uranium.
An official told The New York Times that the US and its European partners are "very close to having an agreement" on what terms to present to Iran.
Iran has agreed to meet with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who requested a meeting with Iran in Vienna in November. The official response was that Ashton must first tell Iran when the sanctions would end, force Israel to give up "the Zionist bomb," and make sure the US gives up its nuclear weapons.