Iran to Unload Fuel from Bushehr Reactor for Testing
VOA News
February 26, 2011
Photo: AP
Iran's ambassador to the U.N.'s IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, speaks at a news conference in Moscow, Russia, January 20, 2011
Iran has confirmed it will have to remove fuel from the nuclear reactor at its Bushehr power plant, a new setback for the Russian-built plant that has already been plagued by decades of delay.
The country's state-run ISNA news agency quoted the Iranian envoy to the U.N. nuclear monitoring agency, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, as saying Russia had requested the fuel be unloaded for tests and technical measures. He said the fuel will be reloaded after the tests are conducted.
Soltanieh did not explain the nature of the technical concerns, but said Iran always gives priority to the safety of the plant according to the highest global standards.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will supervise the fuel unloading process, and mentioned in a confidential report obtained by news agencies Friday that Iran informed it of the need to remove the fuel on Wednesday.
Production at the Bushehr plant has been hampered by a computer virus known as Stuxnet, but Iranian officials have said it did not affect the plant's major systems. Security experts believe the virus was the work of Israel and the United States.
The fuel removal could be a major setback for Iran's nuclear program, which is under intense international scrutiny due to Western suspicions Iran is pursuing nuclear technology to be able to build a nuclear weapon.
The new IAEA report said the Vienna-based agency has received information adding to concerns about possible military aspects to Iran's nuclear program. But Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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Gerald
Anthropologist
Ali Asghar, Your actions and ways and lies has been killing and destroying lives of iranians....... stop it....... what do you think you are doing? Dont you see that this government that you are supporting is like a Cancer to its people?
Let the young to cut the cancer out........ you are part of the cancer ....
Security and safety are an important element when we deal with Nuke arsenal .Ali Asghar is wise man who can see the big picture clearly without foreign interferences while we are seeing all those contradictions surround us . What is wrong if you have peaceful Nuke program while other tiny country has huge Nuke Arsenal which could destroy all Middle East and Whole world .
Who can feel secure while Israel has the most devastating Nuke weapon in Middle east and tends to violate human rights of vulnerable people impassively without any shyness or mercy . We do not want empty slogans which facilitate the assault of some country under the coverage of the UN and US government in order to satisfy Israel and its alliance . We need real peace not just mere talk .
Quartet meeting and earlier announcement of the UN give us impression that human rights have been just created to serve the aims of Israel and its alliances .
peace will come to the middle east ,when countries like egypt ,realize in war ,there are no winners,but in peace every country has a chance to make a better life for their family.
peace will come to the middle east ,when countries like egypt ,realize in war ,there are no winners,but in peace every country has a chance to make a better life for their family.
Gee, thats too bad it may set the Iranian nuke program back. They should be more careful letting those computer virus into their system. Oh well, I'm sure they'll be able to piece it all back together in a few years. Hopefully, another virus won't attack again...or maybe something more deadly!
Israel can be trusted, but Iran cannot. They have been proven as LIARS! We need real peace, not just mere talk, so Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria should be disarmed. Then, there would be real peace for all.
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