DOES IRAN DRAFT DEAL CHANGE GAME OR SHIFT PLAYERS?
By Amos Harel Haaretz October 22, 2009 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1122801.html Our region is a far cry from peace, as exciting as the reports from Vienna might appear. The actual deal between the world powers and Iran is yet to come, but the draft agreement proposed by the IAEA is a serious move forward, as is the positive reception of it by the sides at the table. The draft is a more detailed outline of a plan already presented in the first round of talks earlier this month. According to the draft, Iran would transfer 1.2 tons of enriched uranium, 75 percent of its total stock, to Russia, and then to France. It would then get back low-enriched uranium, which can be used for the small nuclear research facility in Tehran, but is not weapons-grade. This compromise slows the Iranian race for nuclear capability by a year or two. It certainly doesn’t stop the nuclear project, and Iran is not giving up the bomb. Quite the contrary: It gets international recognition of its right to e
