Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said the country has not halted enrichment of uranium to 20 percent.

Ali Akbar Salehi said Iran enriched as much uranium as it needed for the Tehran nuclear reactor every month, Press TV reported.

He said the enrichment of uranium to 20 percent and the production of nuclear fuel plates continue in the country, and there has never been a halt in the production process.

Salehi's remarks came in response to earlier reports that Iran has halted enrichment of uranium to 20 percent.

He said that nuclear fuel plates are supplied to the Tehran Research Reactor every month according to its needs.

Iranian officials say Iran decided to enrich uranium to 20 percent to provide fuel for Tehran Research Reactor after potential suppliers failed to provide the country with the required uranium.

Tehran Research Reactor produces medical isotopes for cancer treatment.

The latest IAEA report put Iran's stocks of 20 percent UF6 (Uranium hexafluoride) at about 180 kg.

Since 2007, the country has produced about 350 kg of UF6; about 40 kg has been made into fuel plates for the research reactor, while the rest is in UF6 form, oxide form, or waste form.

Last week, Iranian MP Seyyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini was quoted by the Iranian Parliament's news agency (ICANA) as saying that Tehran reactor has been supplied with enough nuclear fuel and there was no need for the production of 20 percent enriched uranium.

He later dismissed his remarks, saying that "Tehran is ready to convert its stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium to fuel rods and dispel concerns over their non-peaceful use".

Salehi's comments come as Tehran and the six major world powers - the US, Britain, France, China, and Russia plus Germany - are holding an expert-level meeting in the Austrian capital, Vienna, over Iran's nuclear energy program.

The two sides are also set to meet again in Geneva on November 7-8.

The U.S. and some of its allies suspect Tehran's nuclear program of trying to develop nuclear weapons capability, but Iran insists it is purely for peaceful purposes.

Tehran has rejected their allegations, arguing that since the country is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.