Iran seeks foreign partners for uranium enrichment

Updated: 2005-11-06 08:57

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran is launching a bill to bring foreign partners into its uranium enrichment programme, state radio reported on Saturday.

Iran risks referral to the U.N. Security Council after failing to convince the world its atomic ambitions are limited to the peaceful generation of electricity. Washington says it suspects Iran of seeking nuclear bombs.

"The cabinet has approved international co-operation for uranium enrichment in Natanz," state radio reported.

Natanz is the underground facility in central Iran where the Islamic Republic plans to enrich its uranium -- the most sensitive part of the nuclear fuel cycle.

If enriched to a low level, uranium can be used in reactors but much of the international community fears Iran wants to enrich it further, to weapons-grade.

"The Iranian Atomic Energy Organization is permitted to use the co-operation of companies other than those affiliated to the Iranian government for uranium enrichment," the radio report added.

Bills from the cabinet must be submitted to parliament for approval.

Western diplomats have said that Iran has never successfully mastered the technology of getting a large cascade of centrifuges to work, which is crucial for enriching uranium.

They also say that the uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas currently being produced by Iran at its uranium conversion plant in Isfahan is of too poor quality to be fed into centrifuges for enrichment.

Iran's most important international nuclear partner is Russia. Moscow is helping build Iran's first atomic power station at the Gulf port of Bushehr.

Close