U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has condemned the move by Brazil and Turkey to reach a nuclear-fuel exchange deal with Iran, calling the initiative "dangerous" for global security.
Speaking May 27 at a forum in Washington, Clinton said the Obama administration sees the deal as helping Iran avoid international unity against the Iranian nuclear program.
She said that the Brazil-Turkish approach makes the world "more dangerous, not less," and said the U.S. had voiced its "serious disagreements" to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
"Certainly, we have very serious disagreements with Brazil's diplomacy vis-a-vis Iran,” Clinton said. “And we have told President Lula, I have told my counterpart, the foreign minister, that we think buying time for Iran, enabling Iran to avoid international unity with respect to their nuclear program, makes the world more dangerous, not less."
Under the Brazil-Turkish deal announced May 17, Iran would send some low-enriched uranium to Turkey in return for higher-grade nuclear fuel for a Tehran research reactor -- but Iran has not agreed to halt enriching uranium, a process that could be directed toward nuclear weapons production.
The United States and its allies are currently seeking agreement to impose a fourth round of United Nations Security Council sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt enrichment.
compiled from agency reports