Iran: Uranium deal close

A final deal on sending some Iranian uranium abroad for enrichment is close, Iran's foreign minister has said. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday,  Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran sees good prospects for clinching such a deal.

"With regard to discussions with the different parties, I personally believe that we have created conducive ground for such an exchange in the not very distant future," Mottaki said. "Under the present conditions that we have reached, I think that we are approaching a final agreement that can be accepted by all parties." Mottaki said it should be up to Tehran to set the amounts to be exchanged, based on its needs. A deal could represent a major breakthrough in the long-running dispute over Iran's nuclear programme, but it was not clear whether Iran's conditions would be acceptable to the United States and others.