Iran 'will produce nuclear fuel and enrich uranium'

Iran’s top nuclear official said today that his country will enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel in Iran, despite US-led international efforts to curb such efforts.

“For me, there is no doubt that the process of producing nuclear fuel in Iran will be accomplished,” Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of the Atomic Organisation of Iran, said during a press conference. “There is no doubt that we have to carry out uranium enrichment.”

Aghazadeh, who is also an Iranian vice president, said Iran gave no date for when the processes would start, but stressed they would do so at some stage.

In an apparent goodwill gesture, Aghazadeh said: “Iran would not inject uranium gas into centrifuges and won’t carry out enrichment” during forthcoming Iranian talks with European negotiators.

No date has been set for the talks between Iran and the EU3 – France, Germany and Britain – which broke off in August. They had been set to resume in early December but did not. The parties maintain they are committed to resuming negotiations.

Aghazadeh also said Iran plans to construct a 460 megawatt nuclear power plant based on domestic technology in Dar Khovin, in Khuzestan province in south-western Iran.

Iran wants to produce 2,000 megawatts of electricity through the construction of nuclear power plants with foreign help, he added.