UPDATE: Report: Iran may sell 40 tns of heavy water to Russia

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MOSCOW, Apr 25 (PRIME) -- Iran is in negotiations with Russia to sell it 40 tonnes of heavy water, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview to Iranian television channel IRINN broadcast Monday.

Earlier on Friday, an official of the Foreign Ministry Hussein Jaber Ansari told channel IRIB that Tehran and Moscow are holding negotiations on the matter after it reached a similar agreement with the U.S.

“It is natural that we are aimed at the international market. Consultations with the U.S. were the first step. Now the Russian side is holding talks with us over 40 tonnes, in purchase of which it expressed interest,” Araghchi said.

Iran produced an excessive amount of heavy water, and some countries of the so-called Big Six – the U.S., Russia, China, the U.K., France, and Germany – have expressed interest in purchasing it, he said.

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said earlier that the U.S. plans to purchase 32 tonnes of heavy water used in the Iranian nuclear program for U.S. $8.6 million.

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