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Iran mines uranium
for nuclear plant
Program for civilian use only, Khatami says in surprise announcement
TEHRAN, Feb. 9 — President Mohammad Khatami said on Sunday Iran had mined uranium for use in its nuclear power plants and would reprocess the spent fuel itself, but insisted its nuclear program was solely for civilian use.
THE SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT — the first time an Iranian leader has acknowledged Iran’s possession of uranium reserves —is likely to alarm Washington, which accuses the Islamic Republic of harboring secret plans to develop nuclear weapons.
“Iran has discovered reserves and extracted uranium...we are determined to use nuclear technology for civilian purposes,†Khatami said.
He said the uranium had been extracted near the central city of Yazd and processing facilities had been set up in the central cities of Isfahan and Kashan, the agency said.
Iran, which Washington has labeled a member of an “axis of evil†along with Iraq and North Korea, denies the accusation and insists its nuclear activities are purely for civilian purposes.
It has invited inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to verify its nuclear facilities later this month.
Washington, Iran’s arch-foe, has long been at odds with Russia over its help in building an $800 million nuclear power plant at Iran’s southwestern port of Bushehr, which Tehran expects to come on stream at the end of 2003 or early in 2004.
U.S. fears over the project were somewhat assuaged by assurances from Moscow that all spent fuel from the plant would be returned to Russia, ensuring that it would not be diverted to a weapons program.
But Khatami said on Sunday that Iran intended to control the whole fuel cycle itself, from mining and processing the uranium ore to reprocessing the spent fuel.
“If we need to produce electricity from our nuclear power plants, we need to complete the circle from discovering uranium to managing remaining spent fuel,†he said. “The government is determined to complete that circle.â€
Diplomats said Khatami’s announcement stemmed from world pressure to come clean about the scope of its nuclear programme.
Diplomats said Khatami’s announcement was the result of international pressure on Iran to come clean about the scope of its nuclear program. “They seem to be making a creeping announcement of what their capabilities are,†said one European diplomat.
The head of the Iranian parliament’s Energy Commission, Hossein Afarideh, told Reuters the extracted uranium, after being processed, could be used as fuel for the Bushehr power plant.
“The uranium which has been extracted near Yazd will be processed in the Isfahan and Kashan facilities and eventually it could become fuel needed for the Bushehr plant,†Afarideh said.
Iran had been searching for uranium for years and “it is the first time that extraction operations took place,†he said.
In an interview with Reuters last week, ElBaradei urged Iran to sign the IAEA’s additional protocol which would allow inspectors greater access to Iran’s nuclear facilities and to carry out inspections almost without prior notice.
Last November, U.S. officials claimed that two nuclear sites near the central Iranian towns of Natanz and Arak, seen in commercial satellite photographs, were of a type that suggested Iran could use them to build a nuclear weapon.
Iran dismissed the accusations and the IAEA said it was already aware of the facilities and planned to inspect them in February.
“We are ready to accept inspectors to check our (nuclear) activities in order to reveal the lies told by others,†Khatami said on Sunday.
A signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Iran has said it is studying the feasibility of building further nuclear power plants to meet its booming electricity demand.
“It is our legitimate right to obtain nuclear energy for peaceful aims,†Khatami said.
The United States and Iran have been enemies since radical students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution and held 52 hostages for 444 days.
© 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/870616.asp?vts=020920031405
for nuclear plant
Program for civilian use only, Khatami says in surprise announcement
TEHRAN, Feb. 9 — President Mohammad Khatami said on Sunday Iran had mined uranium for use in its nuclear power plants and would reprocess the spent fuel itself, but insisted its nuclear program was solely for civilian use.
THE SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT — the first time an Iranian leader has acknowledged Iran’s possession of uranium reserves —is likely to alarm Washington, which accuses the Islamic Republic of harboring secret plans to develop nuclear weapons.
“Iran has discovered reserves and extracted uranium...we are determined to use nuclear technology for civilian purposes,†Khatami said.
He said the uranium had been extracted near the central city of Yazd and processing facilities had been set up in the central cities of Isfahan and Kashan, the agency said.
Iran, which Washington has labeled a member of an “axis of evil†along with Iraq and North Korea, denies the accusation and insists its nuclear activities are purely for civilian purposes.
It has invited inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to verify its nuclear facilities later this month.
Washington, Iran’s arch-foe, has long been at odds with Russia over its help in building an $800 million nuclear power plant at Iran’s southwestern port of Bushehr, which Tehran expects to come on stream at the end of 2003 or early in 2004.
U.S. fears over the project were somewhat assuaged by assurances from Moscow that all spent fuel from the plant would be returned to Russia, ensuring that it would not be diverted to a weapons program.
But Khatami said on Sunday that Iran intended to control the whole fuel cycle itself, from mining and processing the uranium ore to reprocessing the spent fuel.
“If we need to produce electricity from our nuclear power plants, we need to complete the circle from discovering uranium to managing remaining spent fuel,†he said. “The government is determined to complete that circle.â€
Diplomats said Khatami’s announcement stemmed from world pressure to come clean about the scope of its nuclear programme.
Diplomats said Khatami’s announcement was the result of international pressure on Iran to come clean about the scope of its nuclear program. “They seem to be making a creeping announcement of what their capabilities are,†said one European diplomat.
The head of the Iranian parliament’s Energy Commission, Hossein Afarideh, told Reuters the extracted uranium, after being processed, could be used as fuel for the Bushehr power plant.
“The uranium which has been extracted near Yazd will be processed in the Isfahan and Kashan facilities and eventually it could become fuel needed for the Bushehr plant,†Afarideh said.
Iran had been searching for uranium for years and “it is the first time that extraction operations took place,†he said.
In an interview with Reuters last week, ElBaradei urged Iran to sign the IAEA’s additional protocol which would allow inspectors greater access to Iran’s nuclear facilities and to carry out inspections almost without prior notice.
Last November, U.S. officials claimed that two nuclear sites near the central Iranian towns of Natanz and Arak, seen in commercial satellite photographs, were of a type that suggested Iran could use them to build a nuclear weapon.
Iran dismissed the accusations and the IAEA said it was already aware of the facilities and planned to inspect them in February.
“We are ready to accept inspectors to check our (nuclear) activities in order to reveal the lies told by others,†Khatami said on Sunday.
A signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Iran has said it is studying the feasibility of building further nuclear power plants to meet its booming electricity demand.
“It is our legitimate right to obtain nuclear energy for peaceful aims,†Khatami said.
The United States and Iran have been enemies since radical students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution and held 52 hostages for 444 days.
© 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/870616.asp?vts=020920031405
