ran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
has said his country is close to reaching a deal with world powers
on sending Iran's low-enriched uranium abroad in return for nuclear fuel.
Mr Mottaki was speaking at a security conference in Munich, Germany.
From there, Nick Childs reports.
For the second time in a week a top Iranian official has spoken positively
about the international nuclear fuel deal
after months when it appeared stalled
and there was increasing pressure among the western powers to step up sanctions on Iran.
Mr. Mottaki said he believed ground conducive for an exchange of uranium fuel in the not too distant future had been created.
And a final deal accepted by all parties could be approaching.
But he remained vague about the timing, a key issue.
And he said the quantity of fuel involved should be up to Iran.
An American missionary who had been detained in North Korea has been released.
The South Korean news agency Yonhap said that Robert park arrived in the Chinese capital Beijing
on a flight from North Korea.