Iran may agree to ship its contentious uranium stockpile to Russia

(Image credit: IIPA via Getty Images)

last updated 10 January 2015

The West's nuclear negotiations with Iran are fast approaching the Nov. 24 deadline, but negotiators may have just reached a breakthrough. Iran has given a preliminary green light to shipping its estimated 28,000 pounds of uranium to Russia, which would process the material into fuel rods that can't easily be used in nuclear weapons. The processed rods would feed Iran's nuclear power plant.

The proposal doesn't settle a host of other contentious issues, like whether Iran can ever operate its plutonium-producing heavy water reactor and how quickly the economic sanctions against Iran would be lifted. But "if the Iran-Russia deal works, it could be the cornerstone of something much larger," an American "deeply involved in the discussions" tells The New York Times. Russia has been a constructive and "creative" member of the negotiations, the official added, though its also true that Russia stands to make quite a bit of money off the deal, if it goes through.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.