Iran Review

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Director Ali Akbar Salehi says Iran will inform the UN nuclear watchdog of the decision to start enriching uranium to 20 percent to meet the requirements of the Tehran research reactor.

"As Iranian president announced, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) will start enriching uranium to a level of 20 percent if talks on fuel swap fail to achieve an outcome," Salehi said.

"The enrichment will carry out at Natanz site, since the Fordo facility has yet to become operational," he added.

"We have written a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to announce our intention to enrich uranium to 20 percent. We will send this letter to the world's atomic watchdog on February 8th and then start enrichment on February 9th in the presence of inspectors and observers from the IAEA,” Salehi said.

As previously announced, Iran is able to produce the nuclear fuel it requires, he added.

"Earlier, we made it known that Iran has a preference to buy fuel for the Tehran research reactor from abroad. The results were very disappointing since they were not willing to cooperate with us in this area,” he pointed out.

“The basis for the proposal was to open the door to cooperation rather than confrontation. We waited for more than seven months and today President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered the AEOI to begin production of 20-percent enriched uranium that can be used to power the Tehran medical reactor,” he added.

Salehi said Tehran's nuclear reactor produces medical radioisotopes for about a million Iranian nationals who need them for treatment for cancer and other serious diseases.