Iran could take delivery of Russian nuclear fuel to fire up its first nuclear power station within months, a senior atomic energy official said Wednesday. "The site is 84 percent finished and will be completed towards the end of 2006," Assadollah Sabouri, the deputy head of Iran's atomic energy organisation, told reporters taken on a visit of the site. "The fuel is in Russia and ready to be transported, and it will be delivered soon but the exact date will remain confidential," he added. Asked if it would arrive before the end of 2005, he replied: "God Willing, in a few months!"
Earlier this year Iran and Russia signed a landmark fuel accord that paves the way for the firing up of the station in southern Iran, a project the United States alleges is part of a cover for weapons development. Under the deal, which capped an 800-million-dollar contract to build and bring the Bushehr plant on line, Russia will fuel the reactor on condition that Iran sends back spent fuel, which could potentially be upgraded to weapons use. Sabouri asserted the arrangement left no room for Iran diverting the fuel to military purposes. "Bushehr is entirely under the supervision of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). The fuel will be verified before it is sent to Iran and the IAEA inspectors will be here to open the seals," he explained. But the plant in southern Iran was still not yet ready to host the fuel, Sabouri added. |