TEHRAN - Iran has failed to accept a United Nations-backed proposal for uranium enrichment and has instead offered its own counterproposal.

Iranian state television is quoting an unidentified Iranian negotiator as saying Tehran has proposed that it purchase nuclear fuel for its reactor. The negotiator says Iran is awaiting a “positive and constructive” response to its plan from world powers.
 
Details of the Iranian counter proposal have not been made public.

A separate proposal drafted by the International Atomic Energy Agency would give Iran access to uranium enriched to a level sufficient for civilian use, but lower than what is needed for a nuclear weapon.  

Negotiators in Vienna had set a Friday deadline for an agreement, following talks between Iran, the United States, France and Russia.

The U.S., France and Russia say they support the IAEA plan.  

Meanwhile, the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) says IAEA inspectors will travel to Iran Saturday to visit the country’s newly disclosed uranium enrichment plant near the city of Qom. The agency says the inspectors will stay for two or three days.

The United States and other Western countries suspect Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

The U.N. Security Council has imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt its enrichment activities.

Source:  VOA News