Iran's atomic agency head proposes production of nuclear fuel with Russia

Tehran: Iran has submitted a proposal to Russia to jointly produce nuclear fuel for Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant and any future facilities built in the country, state media reported Thursday.

Iran's state-run, English-language Press TV quoted the head of Iran's atomic energy agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, as saying "we have made a proposal to Russia to create a consortium under Russian licence to do part of the work in Russia and part in Iran".

Salehi, who is also Iran's vice president, said Moscow is "studying the proposal".

Possibility

An official at the Russian nuclear agency said the two countries have discussed the possibility of creating a facility to assemble the fuel rods for Bushehr. The facility would operate under Russian licence on Iranian territory. But the official said the uranium enrichment would be performed on Russian soil.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, the official added that first Russia will focus on commissioning Iran's Russian-built nuclear plant at Bushehr, and then turn its attention to Iran's new proposal. With Russian help, Iran began loading uranium fuel on Saturday into the Bushehr facility.