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Iran announces resumption of atomic fuel research

Posted on: Tuesday, 3 January 2006, 06:08 CST

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran announced on Tuesday it would resume nuclear fuel research, a move sure to anger Washington and the European Union who fear Iran wants to make atomic fuel to build bombs.

Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said Tehran had informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog in writing that nuclear research would resume shortly.

"Within the next few days we will start researching that field in cooperation and coordination with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)," Saeedi told state television.

The news coincided with strong hints from Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi that Tehran planned to reject a Russian compromise proposal aimed at defusing Iran's nuclear row with the West.

Asefi said a proposed joint venture to enrich uranium in Russia was only acceptable if it was in addition to enrichment facilities in Iran.

Iran says it only wants to produce low-grade enriched uranium for use in nuclear power rectors and not, as the West suspects, highly enriched uranium for atomic weapons.

Iran had suspended nuclear fuel research as well as all uranium processing and enrichment as part of negotiations with the European Union trio of Britain, Germany and France that started in October 2003.

Research on nuclear fuel may include some small-scale testing of sensitive atomic processes, including uranium enrichment, an activity Iran has said it is keen to master and perfect.

Tehran began to roll back the suspension in August by restarting its uranium conversion facility at Isfahan, prompting the EU trio to pull out of the talks with Iran.

The talks resumed last month and both sides are due to meet again this month.

Source: REUTERS

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