| Iran sought to obtain a significant amount of enriched uranium from Austria in a deal scuttled by the United States. Western intelligence sources said the Iranian effort took place in 1999 and disputed Teheran's claim that it never sought to purchase weapons-grade fissile material and related equipment. Iran has denied assertions by the United States of an illegal uranium enrichment program, traces of which was discovered by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Iranian effort took place in 1999 when Teheran launched negotiations for the acquisition of an Austrian nuclear research reactor built in the late 1950s. Austria offered Iran its Astra reactor at the Seibersdorf nuclear center in an effort to unload an aging U.S.-origin heavy-water reactor. Austria's offer stemmed from its assessment that giving away the nuclear facility was cheaper than dismantling the reactor. The cost of dismantling the reactor was estimated at $6.7 million. |