Moscow -- The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said Sunday that his country had agreed in principle to set up a joint uranium enrichment project with Russia, a potential breakthrough in efforts to prevent an international confrontation over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"Regarding this joint venture, we have reached a basic agreement," said Gholamreza Aghazadeh, Iran's nuclear chief, speaking at a news conference with his Russian counterpart in Bushehr, where Russia is helping to build a nuclear power plant. "Talks to complete this package will continue in coming days in Russia."
Among the outstanding issues is whether Iran will continue the small-scale uranium enrichment it began earlier this month, a source of growing international concern.
Russia's offer to enrich uranium for Iran on Russian territory, a proposal backed by the United States and the European Union, has been the basis of intense but previously fruitless negotiations between Moscow and Tehran. If Iran does agree to shift enrichment to Russia, Iran would cede control of a key element in the nuclear fuel cycle and ease suspicions that it could secretly produce uranium suitable for nuclear weapons.
A deal would also head off punitive action by the U.N. Security Council after a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna next Monday.
Aghazadeh made it clear, however, that there is no formal agreement and that some issues must still be resolved.
"There are different parts that need to be discussed," he said, according to Russian news agencies. "These are not just related to forming a company -- there are other elements. There are political issues, and the proposal should be seen as a package."
He added that Iran has "set a precondition," which he declined to specify.
Russian analysts following the talks said Iran wants security guarantees that it would not be attacked by the United States.
President Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, was cautious about the announcement. "It's too soon to say," he said on CNN's "Late Edition." "In any of these arrangements, the devil is in the details. We'll just have to see what emerges."
The announcement Sunday followed two days of talks between Aghazadeh and Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Russia's nuclear agency. Negotiations are expected to continue in Moscow in the next two or three days.
Kiriyenko provided no specifics on any joint venture, including on key issues such as whether Iranian scientists would have access to the Russian facility and whether Iran had agreed to permanently base any operations in Russia.
An agreement, if one is reached and backed by the United States and the European Union, would be a significant boon for Russian diplomacy. Russia has been on the defensive because of Western concerns about the rollback of democracy there and because of the country's alleged use of energy resources to punish neighbors such as Ukraine. Russia is chairing meetings of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations this year, and securing a deal with Iran would be a major boost to the country's attempts to be seen as an essential and powerful partner.
More than two years of negotiations between Iran and an E.U. troika of Britain, France and Germany failed to produce an agreement. Russia, which has close financial and military ties with Iran, has much greater leverage. Among other moves, it could stall construction of the nuclear plant at Bushehr where Sunday's announcement was made.
In recent weeks, Russia has been signaling mounting frustration with Iran's stance. Russian lawmakers have said sanctions might become unavoidable unless Iran yields.
In recent weeks, Russia has been signaling mounting frustration with Iran's stance. Russian lawmakers have said sanctions might become unavoidable unless Iran yields.
