Iran to increase production of enriched uranium by three times

[News_Editor]

Iran to increase production of enriched uranium by three times

2011-06-09 03:15:10 GMT+7 (ICT)

TEHRAN (BNO NEWS) -- Iran on Wednesday announced plans to expand its nuclear fuel production capacity in order to increase its production of 20 percent enriched uranium by three times, the Fars news agency reported.

The enriched uranium will then be used to supply fuel to its Tehran research reactor which produces radioisotopes for medicinal use. The uranium enrichment installations from Natanz, central Iran, will be transferred to the Fordo plant.

"Under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and we will triple its fuel production," said Fereidoon Abbasi, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).

In January, Ali Akbar Salehi, former head of AEOI, announced that Iran had produced almost 40 kilograms of 20-percent-enriched uranium to supply fuel to the Tehran research reactor.

In October 2009, Iran proposed IAEA a deal to send 3.5-percent-enriched uranium and receive 20-percent-enriched uranium from potential suppliers in return. The Islamic nation said that the request was made as it ran out of nuclear fuel for its research reactor.

The United States intervened and stalled the negotiations claiming that the enriched uranium could be used for building a nuclear weapon although the allegations have not been proven. The Iranian parliament later scrapped the deal after concluding that the country was capable of producing its own 20-percent-enriched uranium.

Iran's studies showed that it would only take two to three months for the country to further enrich the nuclear stockpile and turn it into metal nuclear rods for the Tehran reactor.

Iran has repeatedly claimed that its nuclear program has always pursued peaceful means and said it is a civilian path to provide power to Iran's growing population, as fossil fuel would eventually run dry.

However, it was discovered that in 2003 Iran concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). IAEA continues to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material at Iranian nuclear facilities.

In June 2010, the United Nations Security Council imposed the Islamic country under a fourth round of sanctions over its nuclear program. The measures cited the proliferation risks of its nuclear program and its continued failure to cooperate with the IAEA.

The U.S. and the European Union continue sanctioning individuals and businesses which facilitate Iran's nuclear activities. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the sanctions were illegal and downplayed any effect it might have had in the Islamic nation.

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