Iranian nuclear chief: Bushehr fuel production line to be ready in 3 months

Ali Akbar Salehi doesn't say when Iran could use locally-produced fuel; Russia is contracted to provide fuel for plant for 10 years.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Interior of Bushehr nuclear plant 370 (photo credit: REUTERS/Stringer Iran)
Interior of Bushehr nuclear plant 370
(photo credit: REUTERS/Stringer Iran)
The fuel production line for Iran's sole nuclear power plant Bushehr will be fully operational in three months, according to Tehran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday.
"The production line of enriched uranium dioxide (UO2) for the provision of fuel to the Bushehr power plant will be fully operational within next three months," Salehi said during a visit to the Isfahan nuclear site.
Russia, that built the Bushehr power plant, is contracted to provide Tehran with fuel for ten years, while Iran is committed to returning to spent fuel, that cannot be used for military purposes.
Salehi did not say when the Islamic Republic could use locally-produced fuel.
The United States and its European allies suspect Iran is working towards a nuclear weapons capability, and have levied sanctions on Iran's energy, banking and shipping sectors that have battered the Iranian economy and caused a currency crisis.
Iran denies it is after nuclear weapons, saying its uranium enrichment program is purely for peaceful energy purposes.