US wary as Iran president agrees nuclear deal terms

Iran's nuclear programme has alarmed Western powers

The US has reacted warily after Iran appeared to accept a deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel.

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

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

Soon after the statement, Iranian state TV announced the successful launch of a satellite rocket carrying an "experimental capsule".

The West is concerned about Iran's growing missile technology and possible links to its nuclear programme.

Iran insists its nuclear development and rocket programme are entirely peaceful.

A deal struck in October between Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency (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 last month, diplomats said Iran had told the IAEA that it did not accept the terms of the deal and had instead demanded a simultaneous exchange on its territory.

Then, in a state TV interview on Tuesday, President Ahmadinejad dismissed the concerns of his "colleagues" that the West would retain the uranium.

"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."

BBC Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne, reporting from London, says there will still be scepticism about whether President Ahmadinejad's offer is anything more than a delaying tactic designed to fend off fresh sanctions.

In an initial reaction to the 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".

In a later response, a White House official told the BBC: "If Mr Ahmadinejad's comments reflect an updated Iranian position, we look forward to Iran informing the IAEA."

The official added: "If Iran has something new to say, we are prepared to listen."

Russian also gave a guarded response to the Iranian offer.

"If Iran was to return to the scheme that was proposed in October, then we would welcome that," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The British Foreign Office said that if Iran was ready to take up the offer, it "looked forward" to Tehran telling the IAEA.

"If Iran is willing to take up the IAEA's proposed offer, it would be a positive sign of their willingness to engage with the international community on nuclear issues," a spokesman said.

Mr Ahmadinejad also said there were 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."

Mr Ahmadinejad did not go into detail, 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