Editorial Financial Times

Tehran promises exit from labyrinth

Published: May 17 2010 20:02 | Last updated: May 17 2010 20:02

Iran’s offer to deposit enriched uranium in Turkey, brokered by that country and Brazil, may just prove to be a way out of the labyrinth of dead ends that is the nuclear negotiating game with Tehran.

In a joint declaration by the three countries’ foreign ministers, Iran proposes to transfer 1,200kg of low-enriched uranium to Turkish territory within a month, subject to monitoring by itself and the International Atomic Energy Agency. In return it expects to receive 120kg of higher-enriched uranium from global powers, which it needs for medical isotopes, in no more than a year’s time.


This bears more than passing resemblance to a deal supposedly agreed last year, which quickly fell apart. Under those terms, Iran would have sent LEU to Russia in return for medical isotopes from France. But there are three reasons why the new plan has a greater chance of sticking.

First, it overcomes the snags of the earlier deal’s roundabout uranium transfer and guarantees the return of Iran’s LEU unless the nuclear powers make good on their side of the bargain. Second, an offer in writing – with new concessions such as depositing LEU in a single batch and forgoing a simultaneous barter on Iranian soil – suggests that Tehran’s fractious politics are combining with renewed efforts by the west at sanctions on Iran to make its leaders see the need for a deal.

Most important is the role played by Turkey and to a lesser degree Brazil. Both are currently sitting on the UN Security Council, where they have resisted the nonetheless rising pressure for sanctions. It is in these emerging powers’ interest to show they have an alternative. Both are positioning themselves as independent players bridging the mistrust between the west and the Muslim world (in Ankara’s case) and the developing world generally (in Brasília’s).

For Iran it is clearly easier both to trust and to save face by dealing with Turkey – a Muslim country with an outspoken (though moderately) Islamic government. While no one will be surprised if the mercurial mullahs again throw a tantrum and pull back from a seemingly more co-operative stance, the offer must be given serious consideration. If Iran means business, it is the best chance to forestall a military conflict with Israel that would spell disaster for the region and the world.

What is certain is that this development gives Turkey and Brazil a bigger stake in securing a peaceful outcome – and Iran a reason not to make them look like dupes. That is undeniably a positive change.