CHIP CUMMINS
Wall St Journal
Monday, January 4th, 2010
Iranian media on Sunday reported Tehran will conduct a
large-scale defensive military exercise next month, coinciding with
what government officials now say is a deadline for the West to respond
to its counteroffer to a nuclear-fuel deal.
The commander of Iran’s ground forces, Brig. Gen. Ahmad-Reza
Pourdastan, said the drill will be conducted by Iran’s army, in
conjunction with some units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,
to improve “defensive capabilities,” Press TV, the
English-language, state-run media outlet reported.
The report follows comments by Iran’s foreign minister
Manouchehr Mottaki on Saturday, challenging Western nations to decide
by the end of the month on counterproposals Tehran has floated to an
internationally brokered nuclear-fuel deal. In the counterproposals,
Iran has said it would agree to swap the bulk of its low-enriched
uranium for higher enriched uranium, but in small batches and on
Iranian soil.
Iranian officials also have named Turkey as a possible venue to swap
the fuel. Iran has separately suggested it would be willing to buy
enriched uranium from a third party.
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