Tehran, August 31: He also stressed the country’s need for 20 percent-enriched uranium required for civilian purposes and noted that Iran has been forced to produce 20 percent-enriched uranium for medical and therapeutic purposes, IRNA reported him as saying on Monday.
“Iran will continue its activities to enrich uranium to a level of 20 percent for the production of fuel for Tehran’s research reactor,” Salehi added.
“We had announced from the beginning that we did not seek to enrich uranium to a level of 20 percent and the entire world knows that,” said the AEOI chief.
“[But] when we sent a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency last year in order to provide fuel for Tehran reactor, the countries which could produce such fuel laid down unacceptable conditions before us,” explained Salehi.
He also pointed out that Iran has enriched 25 kilograms of its uranium to the required 20 percent level so far, adding that the fuel for the Tehran research reactor will be produced within a year.
Salehi stressed Tehran had no intention of enriching all of its stockpiled uranium to that level, underscoring that the activity will be stopped as soon as fuel is produced.
Iran began enriching uranium to 20-percent in February.
The move came after the UN nuclear watchdog and the P5+1 failed to provide Iran with fuel for the Tehran research reactor.
Most of the medical isotopes used in Iran are produced at the Tehran research reactor.
——–Agencies