Iran – nuclear programme

France, US reject Iran’s nuclear ultimatum

Article published on the 2010-01-04 Latest update 2010-01-04 16:44 TU

A government supporter holds a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
(Photo: Reuters/Caren Firouz)

France and the United States have rejected Iran’s ultimatum over the UN-drafted plan to swap most of its enriched uranium for nuclear fuel.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner condemned Iran’s ultimatum as a way to "side-step" the issue by "giving an ultimatum to those who have offered to help them."

Iran rejected a 31 December deadline set by world powers and threatened at the weekend to enrich uranium at a higher grade next month if leading powers failed to agree on their counter-proposal by the end of January.

Tehran’s counter-offer rejected the proposal put forward by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send out two-thirds of the country's enriched uranium and suggests a phase-by-phase swap on Iran's soil. 

“We are not the ones who have to decide whether to accept what they [Iran] want to impose on us," Kouchner told RTL radio.

"No, this is not the way it is done."

US Spokesman for the National Security Council Mike Hammer brushed aside Iran's demand on Monday and said that the IAEA proposal already offered to Tehran was sufficient.

"The IAEA has a balanced proposal on the table that would fulfill Iran's own request for fuel, and has the backing of the international community," said Hammer.

Meanwhile, the US administration said it was working on a plan to take advantage of the unrest in Iran. Washington is expected to introduce new sanctions on Tehran over the weekend.