By GEORGE JAHN and MATTHEW LEE
By GEORGE JAHN and MATTHEW LEE
Associated Press
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Iran is considering demands for further cuts to its uranium enrichment program but is pushing back on how long it must limit technology it could use to make atomic arms, Western officials involved in the nuclear talks said Sunday.
Iran’s potential movement on enrichment reflected the intense pressure to close a deal. But substantial differences between the sides may prove too difficult to bridge before Tuesday’s deadline for a preliminary agreement, which is meant to set the stage for a further round of negotiations toward a comprehensive deal in June.
The goal is a long-term curb on Iran’s nuclear activities. In return, Tehran would gain relief from the burden of global economic penalties.
Foreign ministers and other representatives of Iran and the six powers in the talks have said there is a chance of succeeding by the deadline despite significant obstacles.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was up to Iran to make that happen.
By accepting the restrictions, the Iranians would “live up to their rhetoric that they are not trying to acquire a nuclear weapon,” he said in Washington on ABC’s “This Week.” The officials in Lausanne said the sides were advancing on limits to aspects of Iran’s uranium enrichment program, which can be used to make the core of a nuclear warhead. Tehran is ready to ship to Russia all the enriched uranium it produces, the officials said, describing a change from previous demands that Iran be permitted to keep a small amount in stock.
One official cautioned that Iran previously had agreed to this, only to change its mind. Also, Iran’s official IRNA news agency on Sunday cited an unidentified Iranian negotiator as denying such an agreement had been reached.
Uranium enrichment has been the chief concern in over more than a decade of international attempts to cap Iran’s nuclear programs.
Over the past weeks, Iran has moved from demanding that it be allowed to keep nearly 10,000 centrifuges enriching uranium, to agreeing to 6,000.