Manama: Arab countries remained silent hours after Iran announced that it had signed a nuclear fuel swap deal to ship 1,200 kilos of low enriched uranium abroad in exchange for nuclear fuel for a Tehran reactor.
No official comment was issued in any of the Arab capitals where Iran's claims that its ambitious nuclear programme was for peaceful purposes were often seen with scepticism.
Lawmakers in Bahrain said that they could not comment on the deal until they were aware of the details, but insisted that they welcomed any genuine move towards addressing diplomatically Iran's bitter standoff with Western countries.
Arab leaders and pan-Arab organisations have repeatedly called for a peaceful settlement of the issue, saying that the region had seen many destructive military conflicts and now wanted to focus on economic growth and better lives for its people.
Under the deal, Iran will ship 1,200 kilogrammes of lightly enriched uranium abroad by the end of the month and receive 120 kilogrammes of fuel for its research reactor within a year.
