Iran to reduce reactor plans ahead of nuclear talk

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Iran is ready to build smaller reactors than previously announced, the head of the country's nuclear agency indicated Friday ahead of next week's new round of talks on Iran's nuclear programme.
Reactors with a capacity of 50 to 100 megawatts would be effective and they would be cheaper than reactors of 1,600 megawatts, Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency, reports dpa.
Iran had presented plans for power reactors ranging from 360 to 1,600 megawatts in past years, which could be built in addition to its operating reactor in Bushehr.
Smaller reactors would need less fuel made from enriched uranium, a material that can be processed further into nuclear weapons.
Iran is negotiating a deal with Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany to curb Tehran's uranium enrichment and other parts of its nuclear programme in return for ending economic sanctions on Tehran.
A new round of talks is to start Monday evening in Montreux, Switzerland, between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif.
The two diplomats are also in Switzerland to address the UN Human Rights Council in nearby Geneva early next week along with Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov from Russia and Frank-Walter Steinmeier from Germany.
The talks are to be continued by senior foreign ministry officials from Iran and the six world powers on Wednesday, EU foreign policy spokeswoman Catherine Ray said in Brussels.
"We should not miss this historic chance," she said, referring to the plan of reaching a framework agreement by the end of March and a final deal by mid-year that would end longstanding concerns over Iran's nuclear programme and its military capabilities.
Progress was made at the previous round, which ended Monday in Geneva, but wide gaps still remain, several diplomats said. The question of how fast sanctions will be lifted was one of the divisive issues, they said.

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