[NYTr] Iran's FM: Russian nuclear fuel ready to ship to Iran

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

AP - Sep 16, 2007
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAN_RUSSIA_NUCLEAR?SITE=PAREA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Russian nuclear fuel ready to ship to Iran, official says

By NASSER KARIMI
Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Enriched uranium fuel is ready to be shipped from
Russia to Iran's first nuclear power plant, state television on Sunday
quoted Iran's foreign minister as saying.

The announcement comes after talks in Moscow between minister
Manouchehr Mottaki and Russian nuclear chief Sergei Kiriyenko to
address delays in completing the $1 billion joint Iranian-Russian
Bushehr power plant.

"Nuclear fuel for this power plant, inspected and sealed by the
International Atomic Energy Agency, is ready," the broadcast quoted
Mottaki as saying late on Saturday. "We do see the trend of cooperation
between Iran and Russia moving ahead for the Bushehr power plant."

The project, Iran's first nuclear power plant, has been beset by
repeated delays due to payment problems on the Iranian side, according
to the Russians. Tehran, however, maintains it is because Moscow has
been caving into Western pressure to halt the project.

The U.S. maintains that Iran's nuclear power program is a cover for
developing weapons and has called for further sanctions, while Tehran
denies the charges and insists it just wants to master the technology
to meet future power needs under the provisions of the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty.

While Russia has continued to oppose a U.S. push for tougher sanctions
against Tehran, Russian officials have shown growing irritation with
Iran's refusal to freeze its own uranium enrichment effort. Moscow
appears to be using its control over the Bushehr project to press Iran
for concessions on its nuclear program.

A European diplomat last month said that Moscow had warned Tehran it
would not deliver fuel to the plant unless Tehran lifts the veil of
secrecy on suspicious past atomic activities. The IAEA has since
reported increased cooperation from the Iranians over its program.

Iran currently has the ability to enrich small amounts of uranium for
nuclear fuel but still nowhere near enough to power a nuclear plant,
much less create a weapon, but Tehran has made it clear it is
developing its enrichment capacity.

Russian officials say the plant cannot open until six months after the
current fuel is delivered.

Enriched to a low degree, uranium is used as a reactor fuel; higher
enrichment creates material for a nuclear warhead.

One solution that has been suggested to the controversy over Iran's
nuclear program is for it to abandon its efforts to enrich uranium and
just buy the necessary fuel from Russia.

In a separate report, state television said that Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had offered his country's nuclear knowledge to
Saudi Arabia.

© 2007 The Associated Press.