So the Iranians have -- quite rightly, IMHO -- refused the nuclear deal according to which they were to ship out their low-enriched uranium to countries that have regularly cheated on every single nuclear contract with Iran, and then sit on their hands, hoping that one day the stuff will be eventually returned in the form of nuclear fuel for a medical research reactor. The Iranians would have been utterly stupid to have accepted such an arrangement, because of course there was no guarantee at all that Iran would ever get any reactor fuel out of it -- just as Iran has not received an ounce of enriched uranium from the French enrichment facility in which it invested a billion of dollars.
When the Iranians didn't accept this arrangement, the opponents of the deal in the West (who naturally don't want to see any peaceful resolution of the standoff with Iran) were naturally quick to declare the negotiations at an end and Obama's approach to Iran as a failure.
But it wasn't. Iran has made a logical counter-offer: it offered to ship out its enriched uranium for a SIMULTANEOUS exchange of nuclear reactor fuel for their low-enriched uranium.
The proponents of the deal in the West said that the original offer was a good deal because it amounted to a de facto recognition of Iran's right to enrich uranium (is it? whilst also removing the low-enriched uranium that "could be" used to make bombs.
The Iranian counter-offer still provides the same benefits to both sides, and should therefore be accepted by the West... if they were negotiating in good faith to start with. WHich they weren't. They never planned on returning Iran's uranium in the form of nuclear fuel, and that's why they won't even consider Iran's counter-offer.
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