Iran Accepts Uranium Swap in Turkey

Two days after Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman rejected a nuclear swap deadline set by the US, Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on state-run TV that Iran “does not have a problem” with nuclear swap if the exchange takes place in neighboring Turkey [IRIB, 25 December]. Mottaki thus reversed his earlier declaration that Iran would only accept the exchange on its own territory.

In Turkey, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu welcomed Mottaki’s announcement and said his government was ready to do its best to help reach a solution to the standoff over Iran’s uranium enrichment program.