Iran has started the final stage of developing special technology for the production of fuel rods. Iran plans to produce the necessary fuel within a year, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Manuchehr Mottaki said, Trend reports, citing Mojnews.
He added that the fuel rod production for Iranian nuclear program will not be affected by external factors. Mottaki noted that Iran had managed to produce all its needs for the nuclear program in the last five years. Iran managed to enrich uranium to 3.5% to produce energy and is currently producing 20%-enriched fuel for the Tehran nuclear reactor.
Talks between the international community and Iran have been held within the 'Iran Six' (Russia, USA, China, UK, France, Germany) since 2003. The 'Six' are working together with the IAEA to try to make Iran halt uranium enrichment, which threatens the nuclear non-proliferation
regime. The negotiations were stopped in 2009 when the IAEA Management Council criticized Iran for building a second uranium enrichment factory and urged Tehran to confirm that it did not plan to build other nuclear facilities.
The situation around the Iranian nuclear program became more complicated on February 11, 2010 when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Tehran had produced its first portion of 20%-enriched uranium and could produce higher-level enriched uranium. He also announced plans to triple low-enriched uranium production.
The UN Security Council passed a fourth resolution on June 9 which involves tougher sanctions against Iran. Moreover, the USA and the EU introduced additional unilateral measures against Iran. Japan and South Korea joined the unilateral sanctions in September.
