Azernews.Az

By Trend

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi says the country has broken new ground in the field of nuclear technology and is now taking preliminary steps toward production of 20-percent modern nuclear fuel, Trend reproted citing Press TV.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the IRIB News Agency on Sunday, Salehi said the new nuclear fuel produced by domestic specialists will be able to keep all kinds of reactors similar to the Tehran Research Reactor running.

“Preliminary steps have been taken to design modern 20-percent fuel and we are on the threshold [of producing it]. This [new] product is different from the previous 20-percent fuel and we can supply fuel to any reactor similar to the Tehran [Research] Reactor,” Salehi said.

Iran's nuclear chief added that the Tehran Research Reactor has been operating on older types of nuclear fuel so far, but the new modern fuel will boost its productivity.

He said Iranian scientists have made such remarkable advances in the field of nuclear technology that instead of reserve engineering, they are now capable of designing new fuel, which is a major achievement for the country.

Salehi further stated that supplying fuel and designing the control room were major steps in building a reactor, adding, “At the present time, designing a reactor has become very possible for our specialists.”

AEOI’s spokesman, Behrouz Kamalvandi, told reporters last June that Iran would soon start re-building the Arak heavy water reactor once a Chinese expert team finished examining the last phase of the re-designing process.