Iran has asked for more time to consider a draft agreement on fuel for its civilian nuclear research facility, while the three other parties to the deal signalled their approval.<br/>The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a statement received by AIR, Dubai today, said that , a three-day meeting at the agency’s Vienna headquarters ended yesterday with a draft agreement on the provision of fuel for the site in Tehran, which, among other activities, produces medical radioisotopes for therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. The statement added that Iran has informed IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei that it is considering the proposal in depth and in a favourable light, but it needs until the middle of next week to provide a response. <br/>The other three nations France, Russia and the United States who were taking part in the talks indicated their approval of the agreement yesterday. The IAEA Director General expressed the hope that Iran’s response will equally be positive, since approval of this agreement will signal a new era of cooperation. <br/>Iran has stated that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, but some other countries contend it is driven by military ambitions. The issue has been of international concern since the discovery in 2003 that the country had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).<br/> <br/>