Iran will not send enriched uranium abroad

Iran will not send enriched uranium abroadTehran - Iran will not send its enriched uranium abroad for further processing, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Wednesday.

Talking to ISNA news agency, Mottaki added that Iran would, however, consider a nuclear fuel swap inside the country.

Iran was supposed to export low-grade enriched uranium to Russia and France where it could be enriched to be used as fuel in Tehran's medical-purpose reactor.

Tehran, however, later said that it would prefer purchasing the required fuel from other countries and keep its low-enriched uranium.

The deal was seen internationally as a confidence-building measure for Iran, which wants to prove to the world that its nuclear programme is not intended for making weapons.

The deal had been negotiated between Iran and the five permanent United Nations Security Council members, plus Germany. (dpa)