American diplomats say the U.S. and its Western allies will call for the immediate closure of Fordo, Iran’s underground nuclear facility.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that the United States and its Western allies will seek the immediate closure and dismantling of the uranium-enrichment facility as part of their demands in new talks with Iran.
The diplomats say they will not accept an agreement that would leave Iran with a stock of uranium enriched to 20-percent purity, because it could be converted into an atomic bomb in a matter of months.
The U.S. diplomats said, however, that they have no idea how Iran will greet this proposal.
The G5+1 will meet with Iran on April 14 for a new round of talks over the nuclear disputes with the Islamic Republic.
There is still some debate over the venue for the talks. In the past month, the U.S. and the EU have stepped up sanctions on Iran, which appear to have thrown the Iranian economy into turmoil.
Iranian authorities, however, deny the sanctions are having an impact and have refused so far to back away from any of their nuclear activities, which they continue to insist are completely peaceful and, therefore, well within Iran’s rights to pursue.
