CORR: Iran Welcomes Fuel Shipment By Russia, Says Enrichment to Continue

Excerpt from report by state-run Iranian TV channel one on 17 December

[Correction: Correcting the second sentence of the first paragraph. The line should read: "This move by Russia followed the positive report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency"]

[Announcer] The first shipment of Bushehr nuclear power plant fuel has been delivered to Iran. This move by Russia followed the positive report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]. [passage omitted, background]

We have Mr [Gholamreza] Aqazadeh [head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization] here to comment.

I have two questions on this issue. What are the consequences of the shipment of the fuel and what is the timetable for Bushehr’s operation?

[Aghazadeh] In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. I’m glad to be giving another good news to our dear nation in this holy month [of Hajj].

As you said, the first shipment of fuel arrived at Bushehr power plant this morning and the other shipments will follow. The power plant is 95 per cent complete and we can promise our people that the power generated by Bushehr power plant will enter the national grid next year [starting March 2008].

[Announcer] This is very good news for our people. But some news agencies have been raising the question whether Iran will need to make its own fuel now that Russia is providing the fuel?

[Aghazadeh] Well, we are building a local power plant with the capacity of 360MW in Darkhovin [south-western Iran]. We are planning to receive the fuel for this power plant from Natanz nuclear enrichment site.

Bushehr’s fuel was originally arranged to be provided by Russia and all the arrangements are made to that end.

The fuel for the power plant we are designing ourselves should be provided by this site [Natanz].

As you may know, while our own power plant is being built, the Natanz enrichment site should be developed too. Natanz is currently running on 3,000 centrifuges, but the number should increase to 50,000 so that it can provide the annual fuel for a 1000MW power plant. Therefore, it will take a few years before these machines are built in Natnz.

In response to some questions asking why Iran will need fuel when it doesn’t have a power plant, we have to say that until the [Darkhovin] power plant starts operation, we have to complete Natanz and enrich uranium so that the fuel will be ready once the power plant is built. If we delay this at any point, the local power plant will face delays in its operation too.

Of course, at this juncture, the shipment of the fuel has another message for the world too. Obviously, the trend of our cooperation with the IAEA, which you mentioned in your introduction too, will have an immense impact on our nuclear issue in the world. This [shipment] is particularly important since Russia is one of the members of 5+1 group and is a country with a veto right at the UN Security Council. When Russia announces that based on the IAEA report there is no evidence of deviation in Iran’s nuclear programme and says that it will continue its cooperation with Iran within the framework of the Additional Protocol and international treaties, this can be a prelude for the development of the 20,000MW of nuclear power plants which was approved by the Majlis. This will have a great impact on the process of building nuclear power plants.

These are also signs that support President Ahmadinezhad’s remarks on the normalization trend of Iran’s nuclear issue.

Furthermore, we have been cooperating with the IAEA to close the case completely and we hope to resolve and end all the outstanding issues by the end of the year.

This [shipment of fuel], will help improve our position, as well as the international situation, to a point where the issue of permanently keeping Iran’s nuclear case at the UN Security Council will be out of question and there will be no legal grounds for it.

[Announcer] Thanks for taking part in the interview.

Originally published by Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Network 1, Tehran, in Persian 1030 17 Dec 07.

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