Beirut (AsiaNews) – The agreement reached by Iran, Turkey and Brazil (leaders of the three countries pictured) has been met with caution in the Arab world, with suspicion in the West and approval in China. Under the terms of the deal, signed on Monday, Iran will send its uranium to Turkey for 20 per cent enrichment (enough for medical and research purposes). The goal of the deal according to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who spoke on Iranian TV, is to stop harsher sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear programme.
With slight differences, the United States, Europe and Great Britain point to the agreement’s one-sidedness.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki insisted that Iran would continue to enrich uranium for its nuclear plants. For Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, “There is no relation between the swap deal and our enrichment activities”.
According to the White House, the exchange could be a "positive step", but warned that the agreement did not address some of the principal issues the US has with Iran's nuclear programme, nor does it necessarily stop sanctions. The European Union through a spokeswoman for EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton voiced similar concerns; so did Russia.
In Israel, Haaretz reports that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Foreign Ministry instructed all officials involved in the Iranian nuclear issue, as well as cabinet ministers, not to make any remarks. The PMO said Israel's response would be released over the coming days. It is likely the Jewish State is waiting for Western reactions.
Conversely, China has welcomed the fuel swap plan, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said late on Monday while visiting Tunisia, Xinhua news agency reported. Beijing has always been reluctant to impose new sanctions because Iran is one of its main suppliers of oil and gas.
In the Arab world, media appear cautious in their reaction, whilst governments have taken a wait-and-see attitude.
Citing John Large, an independent nuclear consultant, Al Jazeera points out that "Turkey has no facilities whatsoever. It is not a nuclear country, so it has no enrichment facilities, and of course, it doesn't really have any storage facilities”.
Lebanon’s L’Orient Le Jour quotes experts who say that the “Tehran agreement places the West in an embarrassing position because it would be difficult to challenge a deal negotiated by Brazil and Turkey, key US allies.”
Similar, Saudi Arabia’s Arab News notes that the “deal goes to the heart of international concern over Tehran's nuclear activities.”
Lastly, in Dubai, Gulfnews suggests that some “Observers say the deal may be a stalling tactic by Iran to delay harsher sanctions against it”. (PD)
