Iran rejects suspension of uranium enrichment

Source: Xinhua | 12-19-2007 11:14

A female Russian technician checks equipment inside the Bushehr nuclear power plant, April 2007. U.S. President George W. Bush said Monday that Russian deliveries of nuclear fuel to Iran only fed the need for the world to clamp down more firmly on Tehran's home-grown atomic work. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

TEHRAN, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Tuesday reiterated its rejection of suspending uranium enrichment, one day after the first shipment of nuclear fuel from Russia for Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station arrived in the country.

Deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Saeedi was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying that some people said Iran no longer needs to enrich its uranium after the delivery of the nuclear fuel, but the notion about Iran's suspension of uranium enrichment was an "outdated analysis."

"The issue of the nuclear fuel has nothing to do with the issue of Iran's uranium enrichment activities," he said, adding that delivery of the nuclear fuel was a "success" for the Iranian nation after a long time.

He noted that Iran should adopt a policy that enables the country to produce at least part of the nuclear fuel it needs.

Tehran has decided to build a new 360-megawatt nuclear power plant in Darkhowein in southwestern Khuzestan province, Saeedi said, adding that Iran would seek to build more medium-sized nuclear power plants in the future.

Russia delivered the first shipment of nuclear fuel to Iran on Monday for Bushehr power plant in southern Iran which is being built by the Russian contractor company Atomstroiexport.

A total of 163 main and 17 reserve assemblies of U-235 enriched to 3.62 percent would be delivered for the first loading, the company said in a statement. All the deliveries will be made in several stages over two months.

Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, on Monday also rejected the notion that the delivery of nuclear fuel from Russia to the Bushehr nuclear power plant meant Iran did not require enrichment.

"We are constructing a nuclear power station with the capacity of 360 megawatts and this power station needs fuel," Aghazadeh was quoted by IRNA as saying.

The IRNA report did not mention the location of the 360-megawatt power station, but Iran's state television quoted Aghazadeh as saying that it is being built in Darkhowein in southwestern Khuzestan province.

"The construction of the power station will last some years. And in parallel to the progress, Natanz enrichment site also needs to be expanded," Aghazadeh said.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei