Azerbaijan , Baku, Sept. 5 /Trend/
Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Agency Fereydoon Abbasi said the designing of a new reactor, similar to the Amirabad nuclear laboratory, in Tehran is under completion.
Iran will announce the decision on construction of a 5-megawatt reactor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as soon as the designing is completed, Abbasi said in an interview with ISNA.
"The Iranian government planned to construct four reactors similar to the Amirabad reactor. Following the plan's approval by the parliament and its financing, we will start to build a 5-megawatt reactor," he said.
Iranian Amirabad reactor, with five-megawatt capacity, produces light water, and last time, 20-percent enriched uranium fuel worth $5 million for this reactor was purchased in 1990 from Argentina. Over the next years, fuel of this reactor will dry up.
The U.S. and other Western countries accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons for military purposes under the guise of peaceful nuclear energy program. Tehran denies the charges, saying that its nuclear program is aimed solely at meeting the country's electricity needs. The U.N. Security Council adopted four economic sanctions in connection with the suspension of Iran's nuclear program.