Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 3
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
Former deputy director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Saidi has praised the country's nuclear negotiators for their thorough discussions over the Arak nuclear facilities, Iran 's ISNA news agency reported March 3.
"The negotiators acted in a very thorough and calculated way to preserve the structure of the Arak reactor," Saidi said.
If the Group P5+1 offer to build Iran a light-water 40-MW research reactor and do build and deliver it too us, then we will be able to make decisions about the Arak reactor, he added.
Saidi's remarks came in response to controversy by the P5+1 states (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany ) raising doubts about the peacefulness of Iran 's activities at the Arak heavy-water reactor.
The Arak reactor produces a certain and considerable amount of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals for the country, he said, adding that the reactor was built in a way to provide enough output to meet the demand for the whole Middle East area as well.
The six world powers seek to re-engineer Arak from a model that produces enough plutonium for several nuclear weapons a year to a less proliferation-prone model.
The Arak heavy water reactor if operating optimally would produce about nine kilograms of plutonium annually or enough for about two nuclear weapons each year.
Iran says that the Arak reactor does not produce weapons-grade plutonium and has agreed to suspend the installation activity at the reactor based on the Geneva nuclear deal.
Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said Aug. 27 that the country had started redesigning of the core of Arak heavy-water reactor (IR-40).
"The Iranian experts are reviewing the equipment of the reactor to prevent nuclear sabotage, and are redesigning the core of the reactor as well," Salehi said.
Edited by CN