By Borzou Daragahi

Los Angeles Times/World – Reporting from Beirut – Iran will offer to amend a proposed deal to transfer the bulk of its nuclear material abroad to be transformed into fuel for a peaceful Tehran medical reactor, state television reported today.

Iran will respond to an American-backed International Atomic Energy Agency proposal within 48 hours but its counteroffer will include “important adjustments,” said Iran’s state-controlled Al Alam, citing unnamed sources.

The Arabic-language television news channel often broadcasts official news or floats trial balloons before other networks.

The U.S., Russia, France and the atomic energy agency signed off on a plan to transport the bulk of Iran’s enriched uranium from Iran to Russia and France to be further refined and turned into fuel plates for a Tehran medical reactor that produces isotopes for cancer diagnoses and treatment.

While the deal would not fully allay international concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, it would temporarily reduce the country’s stockpile and dampen fears that Iran could suddenly break out of treaty obligations and make a quick sprint toward developing a nuclear weapon.

Diplomats said the deal could also lay the groundwork for broader negotiations. But some have grown impatient with Iran.

“Iran is wasting time because it is now that we need to talk. One day it will be too late,” French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on the sidelines of a meeting with European counterparts in Luxembourg, according to Agence France Presse. “The Americans, through Mr. [President] Obama’s determination, have injected fresh vigor into this need for dialogue, but this will not last forever. Answers are needed. We have displayed patience for a long time,” he added.

According to Al Alam, “Tehran will agree with the general framework of the agreement on fuel for the Tehran research nuclear reactor, but it will also stipulate important provisos,” which its source did not specify.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki said Iran was closely considering the deal, but may want to send less than the 2,650 pounds of enriched uranium it specifies.

Al Alam’s Iran affairs editor, Nevid Behrouz, said today that Iran’s worries about the plan center on the quantity it was to ship abroad and its worries that the West would not send the material back.

“The sources affirmed to us that the response would be within the coming two days,” he said. “There will be approval of the broad framework of the draft agreement. However, there will be a demand to introduce important amendments to it.”

He said Iran did not trust the other parties in the negotiation. “There is a problem of confidence between Iran and Western countries, France in particular,” he said. “Russia also failed to meet its promises accurately regarding Bushehr reactor.”

Iran missed a Friday deadline to respond to the proposal, which was backed by world powers, but gained important leverage this week when Russia, which holds United Nations Security Council veto power, came to its defense and urged patience.

“In this month alone concrete and potentially effective solutions have been found,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Rybakov said in an interview published Monday, according to the Interfax news agency. “This doesn’t happen very often. It can’t be ruled out that the process won’t continue with the same intensity. But everyone should arm themselves with as much patience as possible.”

He added, “by and large, Iran is showing readiness for cooperation with both the IAEA and others.”

U.S. conservatives have criticized the Obama administration for the deal, saying it legitimized Iran’s continued enrichment of uranium in violation of the U.N. Security Council.

“By accepting this draft,” analyst Behrouz said, “the West has annulled the previous U.N. Security Council decisions on halting enrichment.”

Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-nuclear28-2009oct28,0,7395393.story