REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DUBAI - Iran appeared to take a harder line in its nuclear dispute with world powers on Sunday by dismissing as "ridiculous" one idea that could allay Western concerns about a planned atomic research reactor.

"It is ridiculous that the power of the (Arak) reactor would be cut from 40 megawatts to 10 megawatts", nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi said, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The fate of the heavy-water reactor at Arak, which has not yet been completed, is one of several thorny issues in talks between Iran and six powers aimed at reaching a long-term deal on Tehran's nuclear program by an agreed July 20 deadline. Western powers fear the Arak plant -250 km (150 miles) southwest of Tehran- could provide a supply of plutonium -one of two materials, along with highly enriched uranium, that can trigger a nuclear explosion- once operational.

Iran said it would produce isotopes for medical treatments, and denied any of its nuclear work was aimed at making a bomb. If operating optimally, Arak could produce about nine kg (20 pounds) of plutonium annually, enough for about two atom bombs, the US Institute for Science and International Security said.

Araghchi made no other reference to the idea in the remarks carried by IRNA, and it was not clear whether such a reduction in electrical power at the planned facility had been formally proposed at the latest round of talks last week. But possible options that could allow Iran to keep the reactor at Arak while satisfying the West that it would not be used for military purposes include reducing its megawatt capacity and altering the way it would be fueled, experts said.

Iran's atomic energy organization chief said in February Tehran was prepared to modify Arak, while insisting that Western concerns over Arak were a ploy to apply pressure on Tehran. The fate of Arak was a big hurdle in talks last year that led to a landmark agreement to curb sensitive aspects of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for some easing of sanctions.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on his Twitter account that a deal was "possible".

"Back from Vienna after tough discussions. Agreement is possible. But illusions need to go. Opportunity shouldn't be missed again like in 2005," Zarif tweeted.

Zarif was referring to a 2005 proposal for Iran to convert all of its enriched uranium to fuel rods, making it impossible to use it for nuclear weapons. The proposal was rejected as the United States was not prepared to accept any level of Iranian nuclear enrichment.

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