Spokesman for Iran's Nuclear Energy Organization Hamid Khadem Ghaemi said on Saturday that technical activities at Bushehr nuclear power plant are quite normal, IRNA news agency reported.
Reports reflected by some news agencies and media on removal of nuclear fuel from Bushehr power plant have been magnified as such technical activities are quite natural, he said.
Referring to recent talks between head of Iran's Nuclear Energy Organization and his Russia counterpart, he said the two sides agreed to take required measures prior to commissioning the nuclear power plant.
The two sides try to avoid taking hasty measures to this effect and consider all technical aspects in line with global standards, he said.
Iran, admitting to technical problems with its nuclear power plant at Bushehr, may have to exchange the facility's entire core, diplomatic sources said Saturday in Vienna, dpa reported.
The diplomats were commenting a day after Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna that it had encountered problems at the plant, which was scheduled to start producing electricity this month.
Iran's IAEA envoy, Ali-Asqar Soltanieh, told the ISNA news agency that Russian experts have advised Iran to unload the fuel from the reactor core so further tests - including some related to safety - can be undertaken.
Trying to downplay the incident, Soltanieh said that the fuel would be returned to the reactor as soon as the tests are completed.