Iran nuclear plant gets fuel

IRAN began loading fuel into its first nuclear power plant yesterday, moving closer to its opening in the face of Western fears over its eventual plans for weapons.

The government sees the completion of the plant, built with the help of Russia, as a show of defiance against UN Security Council sanctions against its nuclear programme.

A leak in a storage pool delayed the operation for months and Iran now says the 1,000-megawatt nuclear plant will begin generating electricity in early 2011.