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Iran: Tehran Acknowledges Nuclear Plans Iran publicly announced yesterday that it plans to construct a nuclear power capacity entirely from domestic sources. Iran will mine uranium, process it into nuclear fuel, and process the subsequent spent fuel, according to reports (see GSN, Feb. 4). Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said yesterday Iran is prepared to begin extracting uranium from mines located about 200 kilometers from the city of Yazd in the central part of the country, Khatami said. There are also plans to construct facilities in the cities of Isfahan and Kashan to process uranium for use as nuclear fuel, he said, adding that Iranian experts have been trained in the civilian applications of nuclear technologies (Islamic Republic News Agency, Feb. 9). Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said the Islamic nation would process spent nuclear fuel, the Associated Press reported. “With the completion of the Isfahan plant, we hope to process the spent fuel and provide fuel for plants inside the country soon,” Aghazadeh said (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press, Feb. 10). Aghazadeh said work on the fuel preparation plants has started (see GSN, Dec. 13, 2002). “The preliminary steps have taken place and very extensive research has already started,” he said. “We have taken some steps but we still have a long way to go to have this plant come onstream,” he added. Khatami denied that Iran was seeking to expand its nuclear capabilities in order to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has decided to produce about 6,000 megawatts of electricity through nuclear power, he said, noting that the Bushehr nuclear plant, currently under construction by Russia, is set to generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity. “I assure all peace-loving individuals in the world that Iran’s efforts in the field of nuclear technology are focused on civilian application and nothing else,” Khatami said. “This is the Iranian nation’s legitimate right,” he added (Islamic Republic News Agency).
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