Iran rejects sending uranium abroad

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran will not ship its low-enriched uranium out of the country for processing, its foreign minister said Wednesday, once again rejecting a U.N. plan aimed at thwarting any attempt by Tehran to make nuclear weapons.

Instead, Foreign Minister Manochehr Mottaki countered with a proposal certain to fall short of Western demands.

The United Nations last month offered a deal to take 70 percent of Iran’s low-enriched uranium to reduce its stockpile of material that could be enriched to a higher level, and possibly be used to make nuclear weapons.

That uranium would be returned about a year later as refined fuel rods, which can power reactors but cannot be readily turned into weapons-grade material.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is only for the peaceful purpose of generating energy.