Iran council orders Tehran to put nuke cycle in place

Iran’s constitutional watchdog approved a Bill on Saturday that obliges the government to develop a nuclear fuel cycle—a step opposed by Washington which accuses Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons.

The Bill, passed by Iranian parliamentarians on May 15, calls on the government “to take action to obtain peaceful nuclear technology, including provision of the fuel cycle for generating 20,000 megawatt of electricity”.

State television reported that the conservative Guardian Council, composed of six clerics and six lawyers, had approved the Bill, passing it into law.

The Bill does not say when Iran should produce the nuclear fuel, and most analysts see it as a bargaining chip in talks with France, Germany and Britain, which are trying to get Iran to end its work on the fuel. Iran has frozen its work on the nuclear fuel cycle, giving the EU trio until early August to propose a compromise.