The New York Times-20080129-Iran Reports Receiving Nuclear Fuel From Russia
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Iran Reports Receiving Nuclear Fuel From Russia
Full Text (437 words)Iran received the final shipment of fuel from Russia on Monday for its first nuclear plant, state media reported, an important step toward the expected start of the reactor's operations later this year.
The five-ton consignment of enriched uranium arrived at the light-water nuclear power plant at Bushehr on Monday morning, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
With the arrival of the final shipment, all 82 tons of initial fuel needed for the power plant, together with peripheral equipment, has been shipped from Russia to Iran, the agency said.
Irina F. Yesipova, a spokeswoman for Atomstroyexport, Russia's state company in charge of building the Bushehr plant, confirmed the shipment.
Iran, which has denied American allegations that it is pursuing nuclear weapons, received the first shipment of fuel from Russia on Dec. 17 after a dispute lasting months between the countries, ostensibly over delayed construction payments for the reactor.
Iran has said that Bushehr, its first nuclear reactor, will start operating this summer, running at half its 1,000-megawatt capacity.
But Ms. Yesipova said a firm date for the plant's start had not been set. It will be necessary to conduct complex work related to preparations for the launch, with security being the top priority, she said.
The Iranian government has heralded the shipments as a victory, saying they proved its nuclear program was peaceful, not a cover for weapons development, as claimed by the United States and some of its allies.
The United States initially opposed Russian participation in building the Bushehr reactor and supplying it with fuel, but reversed its position about a year ago to obtain Moscow's support for the first set of United Nations sanctions against Iran.
Washington was also influenced by Iran's agreement to return spent nuclear fuel from the reactor to Russia to ensure it did not extract plutonium to make atomic bombs.
Russia began shipping nuclear fuel to Iran after an American intelligence report released last month that concluded that Tehran had stopped its nuclear weapons program in late 2003 and had not resumed it since. Iran maintains it has never had a weapons program.
The United States and Russia have said the supply of nuclear fuel means Iran has no need to continue its own uranium enrichment program, a process that can provide fuel for a reactor or fissile material for a bomb.
Iran has insisted that it will continue enriching uranium because it needs to provide fuel for a 300-megawatt light-water reactor it is building in the southwestern town of Darkhovin.
Officials have said they plan to generate 20,000 megawatts of electricity through nuclear energy in the next two decades.
