Iran president Ahmadinejad accepts nuclear deal terms

Iran says it only wants nuclear power for peaceful purposes

Iran's president has said it is ready to send its enriched uranium abroad for further enrichment under a deal to ease concerns about its nuclear programme.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told state TV that Iran would have "no problem" if most of its stock was held for several months before being returned as fuel rods.

Correspondents say that such a decision would be a major shift in Tehran's position.

The US said that if this was a new offer, it was "prepared to listen".

Last month, diplomats said Iran had informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it did not accept the terms of the deal and had instead demanded a simultaneous exchange on its territory.

The US and its allies fear Iran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.

'Definitive answer'

The deal agreed in October between Iran, the IAEA and the so-called P5+1 - the US, Russia, China, UK, France plus Germany - envisaged Iran sending about 70% of its low-enriched uranium to Russia and France, where it would be processed into fuel for a research reactor.

But for months, Iranian officials publically criticised the terms and said they were unwilling to export the uranium without simultaneously receiving fuel in return. The proposal proved unacceptable to the West.

But in a television interview on Tuesday, President Ahmadinejad dismissed the concerns of his "colleagues" that the West would not return the uranium, saying Iran would respond by producing more.

"We have no problem sending our enriched uranium abroad," he said.

"We say: We will give you our 3.5% enriched uranium and will get the fuel. It may take four to five months until we get the fuel.

"If we send our enriched uranium abroad and then they do not give us the 20% enriched fuel for our reactor, we are capable of producing it inside Iran."

In an initial reaction to Mr Ahmadinejad's comments, US state department spokesman P J Crowley said the US was "not prepared to change the deal. We are not interested in renegotiating it. If Iran wants to accept it then they should inform the IAEA".

But a later response from the administration stressed that "if Iran has something new to say, we are prepared to listen".

BBC Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne, reporting from London, says that even now there will be scepticism over whether this Iranian change of heart really means anything.

The US is pressing hard for new sanctions against Iran because of the nuclear programme, so this could well just be a case of the Iranian government playing for time, trying to weaken forces lined up against it, he says.

Hikers

In his interview, Mr Ahmadinejad also said there were ongoing negotiations about a possible prisoner swap for several Iranians jailed in the US for the three American hikers currently being held in Iran.

"There are some talks under way to have an exchange, if it is possible," he said. "We are hopeful that all prisoners will be released."

Who are the US hikers?

Mr Ahmadinejad did not mention any specifics, but in December Tehran released a list of 11 Iranians it says are being held in US prisons, including a nuclear scientist who disappeared in Saudi Arabia and a former defence ministry official who vanished in Turkey. The US has denied any knowledge of their whereabouts.

"I had said I would help in releasing them, but the attitude of some of the US officials damages the job," he said. "There are a large number of Iranians in prison in the US. They have abducted some of our citizens in other countries."

However, US National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer told Agence France-Presse news agency: "We have not entered into any discussion with Iran about an exchange."

The three Americans - Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal - were hiking in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region in July when they accidentally crossed the border, their families have said. Iranian prosecutors say they have been accused of spying.

Earlier, US Vice-President Joe Biden warned that Iran's leaders were "sowing the seeds of their own destruction" by suppressing the opposition protests that followed the disputed re-election of Mr Ahmadinejad in June.

"The people of Iran are thinking about, the very people marching, they're thinking about regime change," he told MSNBC.

Sri Lanka votes to elect new president

Most voters say they want peace and prosperity

Polls have opened in Sri Lanka in the country's the presidential election, which comes after a bitter campaign.

Early voters have been seen queuing up near the capital, Colombo. A few hours ago, people in the northern Tamil city of Jaffna reported hearing four blasts.

The election is the first since the Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated last year after 25 years of war.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa is facing a tough test against his former army chief-turned-rival Gen Sarath Fonseka.

More than 14m voters are eligible to vote in 11,000 centres from 0700 local time (0130GMT). Polls will close at 1600 local time.

Counting will begin three hours later and the final results are expected to be announced on Wednesday morning, the election commission has said.

There are 22 candidates standing for the presidency.

If no candidate has 50% plus one vote after the first count, second preferences will be tallied and the candidate with the greatest number of votes wins.

'Remarkable victory'

About 250,000 Sri Lankan election officials have moved into position throughout the country after collecting polling cards and ballot boxes from central election offices.

President Rajapaksa and Gen Fonseka had a falling out last year

Security is tight amid fears of violence and more than 68,000 police are being deployed to protect the polling stations.

Among the early voters was President Rajapaksa.

"Today's victory will be remarkable. It's been evident with voters across the nation participating towards our victory," news agency Reuters quoted Mr Rajapaksa as saying after voting in Medamulana, his rural district on the southern coast.

"We expect a peaceful election and are getting ready to enjoy a better tomorrow."

Most voters say they are voting for peace and an improved economy.

"What I expect in the future is that in the same way peace was established, the cost of living will be brought down and the unemployment problem will be solved," Reuters quoted security guard Jayantha Perera as saying.

Hours before the polling booths opened at dawn, people in Jaffna reported hearing up to four blasts.

Acrimonious campaign

A monitoring group said two bombs were thrown at a ruling party organiser while another account said an opposition MP's home and two polling booths were targeted, the BBC's Charles Haviland reports from Colombo.

Police in Jaffna told the BBC they had no information of any trouble.

The two-month-long campaign, often marked by acrimony, officially closed on Saturday.

Election clashes have so far left four dead and hundreds wounded.

"We had in this election I think a scale of abuse of state resources which had not been registered before," news agency Reuters quoted Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, co-convenor of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence, as saying.

But he added: "If enough Sri Lankan citizens go in large numbers as we have always done in the past and for over six decades... resisting the violence and the intimidation... then we may well get a result that at the end of the day reflects overall the wishes of the people of this country."

On Sunday, President Rajapaksa suffered a blow when ex-President Chandrika Kumaratunga vowed to back his rival.

Mrs Kumaratunga, a senior member of Mr Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Freedom Party, said she was deeply concerned about violence, intimidation and corruption in the fiercely-contested poll.

President Rajapaksa and Gen Fonseka were closely associated with the government's defeat of the Tamil Tigers last May but the pair fell out bitterly soon after.