Iran Review

Iran's foreign minister says he hopes that an agreement on the nuclear fuel proposal will soon be reached, but with the changes that Tehran seeks.

"The most important point is the political will. Personally I feel this will is there," Mottaki said.

"I personally believe that we have created favorable conditions for such an exchange in the not very distant future," he said, noting that he believed the diplomatic atmosphere had improved recently.

The Iranian foreign minister warned that his country would not accept the timeline proposed in the draft, which would require Iran to export its uranium and wait for up to a year before receiving the enriched fuel.

"There must be a guarantee for both sides that this low-enriched uranium will definitely be given and highly-enriched uranium will definitely be returned, this mechanism makes it possible to reach a compromise," Mottaki said.

"The best way to guarantee that all stages of the deal would be carried out according to the agreement would be for the supplier to start enriching uranium feedstock now, so that the exchange could take place simultaneously in some months' time," he said.

Mottaki once again raised that argument, criticizing Europe for showing opposition to Iran's civil nuclear program. He went on to criticize the West for imposing no sanctions on Israel for its development of nuclear weapons.

"It is the recognized right of Iran to enjoy a peaceful nuclear program," he said.

Manouchehr Mottaki said he had held a "very good meeting" with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over a nuclear fuel swap proposal.

"Today I had a very good meeting with the head of IAEA, Yukiya Amano," Mottaki said.

"We discussed and exchanged views about a wide range of issues ... We also exchanged views about the proposal that is on the table. I tried to explain the views of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the director general," he said.

Mottaki said the country was "close" to an agreement with the other parties. However, his remarks were brushed aside by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, whose country seeks to impose further international sanctions against Tehran over its program.