Ahmadinejad Open to Nuclear Talks

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is reportedly open to restarting talks about his country’s burgeoning nuclear program, according to a letter sent to the European Union obtained by CNN. The letter comes just one day after Ahmadinejad oversaw the insertion of the country’s first domestically produced fuel rod into a research reactor. If sanctions against Iran go forward, Iran would not be allowed to import yellowcake, a chemically treated form of uranium ore that is used for making enriched uranium—and Iran had announced Wednesday the intention to start producing of yellowcake. Meanwhile, the U.S. has played down Iran's announcement nuclear might, while slapping sanctions on Iran's intelligence ministry for allegedly supporting Syria's crackdown.