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By Sean Rayment
The Kremlin has announced that Russia would be willing to store Iran’s enriched weapons-grade uranium in a bid to de-escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran.
A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said that an offer to process or store Iran’s uranium had been under discussion for some time.
Asked whether Russia was discussing with Iran and the United States the possibility of taking Iranian enriched uranium, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “This topic has been on the agenda for a long time.”
“Russia has been offering its services for quite a long time as a possible option that would lead to the removal of certain irritants for a number of countries,” Peskov said.
“Right now, Russia is continuing its efforts, continuing its contacts with all interested parties, and maintains its readiness to de-escalate tensions around Iran to the best of its ability,” he added.
Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that any attack on his country would spark a regional conflict, as the US continues to build up its forces nearby.
“The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,” Khamenei was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
US President Donald Trump earlier said Iran was in “serious discussions” and that he hoped they would lead to something “acceptable”, while Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CNN he was “confident that we can achieve a deal” on Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Mr Trump has threatened to intervene in Iran over its nuclear ambitions and following its deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.
Araghchi said: “Unfortunately, we have lost our trust in the US as a negotiating partner,” but added that the exchange of messages through friendly countries in the region was facilitating “fruitful” talks with Washington.
Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, had previously said that a framework for negotiations was progressing.
As part of its build-up of forces, the US has sent the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to the region, and late last week US Central Command said it was operating in the Arabian Sea.
“[Trump] regularly says that he brought ships… The Iranian nation shall not be scared by these things,” Khamenei added.
Iran had been expected to begin a two-day live-fire naval exercise on Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping lanes and a key route for energy supplies.
However, on Sunday Reuters quoted an Iranian official as saying the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) navy had no plans for such an exercise.
Around a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes through the waterway, which is about 33km (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point between Iran and Oman. Iran has in the past threatened to close the strait if it were attacked.
The US has warned Iran against any “unsafe and unprofessional behaviour” near its forces in the area.
Araghchi responded by saying: “The US military is now attempting to dictate how our powerful armed forces should conduct target practice in their own turf.”
