Report: Iran’s vice-president says row over heavy water nuclear reactor ‘virtually resolved’

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian state television is reporting that the Islamic Republic’s vice-president is saying a dispute between world powers and the country over its heavy water reactor at Arak has been “virtually resolved.”

A state television report Saturday quoted Vice-President Ali Akbar Salehi as saying the country proposed to redesign the Arak reactor to produce one-fifth of the plutonium initially planned for it. The report quoted Salehi as saying that will end concerns the West has that Iran could use the plutonium produced at Arak to build a nuclear weapon.

Iran and world powers are negotiating the terms of a permanent deal over its contested nuclear program. Under a temporary deal, Iran agreed to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit its nuclear facilities, including Arak.