Turkey`s foreign minister has praised Iran for agreeing to ship some of its low-enriched uranium abroad and urged the West to try to end its diplomatic standoff over the country`s nuclear program.
Monday`s deal forged by Turkey and Brazil appeared to be another attempt to stave off U.N. sanctions against Iran.
Iran said Monday that it will press ahead with higher enrichment - bringing it closer to being able to make atomic warheads - despite criticism by the U.S. and some of its allies.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutodlu said Tuesday that the nuclear deal with Iran shows its flexibility and that Washington and other Western powers should show "the same flexibility" by Iran." He says "today is the day of mutual trust."
Any attempt to impose fresh sanctions on Iran, Turkey's eastern neighbor, would "ruin" the progress achieved, he said.
The agreement, brokered by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdodan, comes as the U.S. rallies support for a fourth round of United Nations sanctions against the Persian Gulf state.
Efforts to pursue a U.N. sanctions resolution on Iran will continue, the U.S. State Department said late Monday.
Confidence in the plan will grow as it is implemented and discussion of new sanctions would "damage the atmosphere," Davutodlu said. The agreement covers the swap of material, not Iran's enrichment program, he said.
Iran awaits response
Iran expects a quick response from world powers on the accord to ship much of its low enriched uranium to Turkey, the Iranian foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
Iran will notify the International Atomic Energy Agency of the accord signed on Monday with Turkey and Brazil "in writing, through the usual channels, within a week," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.
"We expect members of the Vienna group [the United States, France, Russia and the IAEA] to quickly announce their readiness" to implement the fuel swap, he told reporters.
The IAEA said it has received the text of the joint declaration by Iran, Brazil and Turkey but was now expecting Tehran to notify it directly of what commitments it had undertaken.
"We are now expecting written notification from Iran that it agrees with the relevant provisions included in the declaration," IAEA spokeswoman Gill Tudor said on Monday.
The so-called Vienna Group made an offer last October to ship most of Iran`s LEU out of the country in return for higher grade reactor fuel to be supplied by Russia and France.
Iran stalled on the deal insisting it wants a simultaneous swap on its own soil, which was rejected by world powers.
Monday`s accord signed in Tehran commits Iran to deposit 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds) of low enriched uranium in Turkey in return for fuel for a Tehran research reactor.
Mehmanparast said if the Islamic republic reaches agreement with the countries involved in the initial IAEA-backed deal, it "will pave the way for more nuclear cooperation."