TEHRAN — Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has approved a Brazilian plan aimed at breaking the impasse over a UN-drafted nuclear fuel swap deal for Tehran, his website said on Wednesday.

World powers and Iran have been at loggerheads for months over the deal, which envisages supplying nuclear fuel for a Tehran research reactor in exchange for low-enriched uranium from Iran.

The deal stalled after Iran insisted the two materials be exchanged simultaneously within its borders -- a condition rejected by world powers who accuse Iran of masking a weapons drive under the guise of what Tehran says is a purely civilian atomic programme.

In April Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said during a visit to Tehran that his country could "examine" hosting the fuel swap if requested by Iran.

He also said that Brazil could act as a "political guarantor" for the deal.

According to the website president.ir, Ahmadinejad discussed a Brazilian proposal in a telephone conversation with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday.

"The main issue of talks between Ahmadinejad and Chavez was the Brazilian president's proposal regarding the nuclear fuel swap and Ahmadinejad declared his basic approval to this proposal."

The website did not give details about what the Brazilian proposal was but Amorim told Iran's official news agency IRNA on April 27 that Brazil could host a fuel swap deal if asked by Tehran.

"As of now there is no proposal, but if we receive such a proposal, it could be examined," he said.

Before insisting on the condition that the fuel be exchange in Iran, Tehran had previously said that it could consider whether the fuel could be swapped in Japan, Brazil, Turkey or on the Iranian Kish island.

Amorim had also said in Tehran that Brazil was "interested in having a role in settling Iran's nuclear issue."

He had taken a serious exception to the presence of Western countries in the P5+1 group negotiating with Iran. The group consists of permanent Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany.

He said Brazil and Turkey could be possible "political guarantors" to help resolve the issue, adding that Ankara could also be the host to exchange nuclear fuel.

The fuel deal deadlock has led Washington to step up global efforts for a fourth round of UN sanctions against Tehran.

Brazil and Turkey, two temporary members of the 15-strong UN Security Council, have consistently defended Iran's nuclear programme which the West suspects masks a weapons drive.

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