Vienna - Multilateral talks on processing Iran's uranium abroad were held up Tuesday as Tehran refused to accept France as a direct partner in a deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in Tehran his country does not want France at the Vienna talks, and that it would negotiate only with Russia and the United States, the other parties at the table.
The four delegations were in Vienna to discuss a plan to export most of Iran's low-enriched uranium, enriching it in Russia to a higher level, processing it further in France, and sending it back to Tehran, where it is to fuel a medical-purpose reactor.
A source close to the talks said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which hosts the talks, had drawn up a compromise in which Iran would make a deal with Russia, and Russia would conclude a subcontract with France.
By the evening, full negotiations had not restarted as delegations were meeting bilaterally, and the French Foreign Ministry suggested the talks could continue on Wednesday.
France continued to be "optimistic and open" for a deal with Iran, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman told the German Press Agency
