According to semiofficial state media, a senior Iranian politician said Saturday the country would not ship low-enriched uranium out of the country, which is a major part of a pending nuclear deal between Iran and international powers.

Iran’s semiofficial news agency ISNA reported that Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chief of Iran’s Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said the proposed deal to send uranium out of the country is “called off.”

This issue is part of a deal being negotiated by a UN nuclear watchdog agency. The United States, France, and Russia have been supporting the draft agreement.

It calls for Iran to ship low-enriched uranium outside the country, possibly to Russia, to be converted into fuel rods. Then, the material then would be shipped back to the Tehran research reactor that produces isotopes for use in medical treatments.

Under the deal, Iran would get the converted fuel back by the end of 2010, the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency said.

(article and photo source: CNN)