Iran will need two more weeks to complete the process of loading fuel into its Russian-built first nuclear power plant, atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said.
Iran
will
need two more weeks to complete the process of loading fuel into its
Russian-built first nuclear power plant, atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said.
The process of loading 163 fuel rods, also supplied by
Russia
, into
the nuclear power plant located in the southern port city of
Bushehr
began
August 21 and was to be completed by September 5.
Thereafter the rods were to be transferred to the reactor.
But state news agency IRNA reported late Monday that Salehi, in an interview
with Al-Alam television, said it will take another two weeks to shift the rods
into the plant.
"From now on, it will take 10 to 15 days for the 163 fuel rods to be moved
into the main building of the Bushehr nuclear power plant and then we have to
transfer the fuel rods into the reactor," Salehi said.
Last week, he had said the transfer of fuel rods into the reactor would start
at the end of the Iranian month of "Shahrivar [September 22], and at the
end of [the month of] Mehr [October 22], we will close the lid of the
reactor."
On Monday, Salehi blamed Bushehr's "severe hot weather" for the delay
in moving the rods into the plant and said that this work was being done during
the night.
Iranian officials had earlier said the Bushehr plant's commissioning is
expected in October or November when the electricity it generates is connected
to the national grid.
Russian officials said the start of the process of loading fuel into the plant
marked the physical launch of the facility, which had been under construction
ever since the 1970s under the rule of the late shah.
Despite being OPEC's second-largest crude oil exporter and having the world's
second-largest gas reserves, Iran insists it needs nuclear power for a rapidly
growing population and for when its fossil fuels eventually run out.
Salehi also appeared to address safety concerns raised by
Kuwait
after
the fuel loading began in the plant.
Kuwait
is
the nearest country to the power plant as it is also located in the northern
Gulf.
"These concerns and worries are untrue. If any incident happens, it can be
contained in the main building" of the plant, Salehi said.
Salehi also said that the Islamic republic has received a "positive"
initial response from
Russia
to
its proposal of making nuclear fuel jointly in both countries.
"So far the Russian response has been positive to the Iranian
proposal," Salehi said of the plan which he revealed August 26.
"But any comprehensive and complete response depends on future
negotiations and further study. We hope that the positive signals from the
Russians will lead to the signing of an agreement."
Iran
is
under four sets of UN Security Council sanctions for its refusal to halt
uranium enrichment--the process which can be used to make nuclear fuel but also
the fissile core of an atom bomb in highly purified forms.
Russia
,
despite being
Iran
's
long-time nuclear ally, also voted for the latest round of UN sanctions against
Tehran
, a move which triggered an angry response against
Moscow
from
top Iranian officials.
Salehi said
Iran
was
testing second and third generations of centrifuges, the device which rotates
at supersonic speed to enrich uranium.
"The testing phase could take one to three years... The testing is on an
experimental basis and not on an industrial production scale,"
Iran
's
atomic chief said.
Iran
currently enriches uranium at its facility in the central city of Natanz in
defiance of the UN and world powers. As of May 24, it had installed 8,528
centrifuges at Natanz, according to the latest UN atomic watchdog report.
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