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Iran says has no plan to enrich uranium above 20 per cent

Iran Materials 18 September 2012 12:28 (UTC +04:00)
The director of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) says Tehran does not have any plan to enrich uranium above 20 per cent
Iran says has no plan to enrich uranium above 20 per cent

Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 18 /Trend, D.Khatinoglu/

The director of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) says Tehran does not have any plan to enrich uranium above 20 per cent, IRNA reported.

Fereydoun Abbasi told reporters during the International Atomic Energy Agency's 155-nation general conference in Vienna that processing uranium by 20 per cent is aimed at supplying the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) to produce radio-medicines, but some people have attempted to link this issue to non-peaceful targets.

"Iran would have never started 20 per cent enriched uranium production if the West hadn't prevented the dealing of Iranian legally-enriched uranium with TTR's nuclear fuel," he said.

Iran and P5+1 Group along with the intermediation of Brazil and Turkey started talks about excluding 1200 kg of Iran's 3.5 per cent enriched uranium to Russia and supplying 120 kg of 20 per cent enriched nuclear fuel to Iran by France in early 2010, but they could not reach a common result in exchange conditions.

Then, Iran started processing 20 per cent uranium enrichment itself and succeeded in loading the first batch of its homemade uranium rods into the Tehran research reactor in February 2012. So far, the fourth part of 20 per cent enriched uranium was loaded on to the five megawatt-thermal Tehran's Research Reactor.

The Iranian 50-year old TRR was supplied with 20 per cent enriched uranium fuel worth $5 million previously purchased in 1990 from Argentina. Iran's 20 per cent enriched uranium gas (UF6) stockpile has reached above 200 kg.

Abbasi said that Iran planned to build several pool type nuclear power plants and it will continue producing 20 per cent enriched uranium as much as it needs. He did not mention the final amount of required 20 per cent nuclear fuel for Iran.

Iran was charged by the International Atomic Energy Agency and some western countries over hiding its probable military related nuclear activities. Iran rejects the accusations.

So far, UN Security Council has adopted four rounds of sanctions over Iran. The U.S. and EU slapped a tighter restrictive measure on Iran.

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