Fresh Fuel In August 1995, Russia contracted with Iran to supply low-enriched uranium
(LEU) fuel for the Bushehr nuclear power plant
for ten years. The fuel rods for the VVER-1000 light-water reactor
will be fabricated at the Novosibirsk
Chemical Concentrate Plant. [1,2]
Although Russia has insisted that provisions for returning spent fuel to Russia
were included in the original
Bushehr NPP
agreement, as of July 2002 Iran and Russia were still in the process of ironing out
the details of an agreement on returning spent fuel. One of the obstacles has
been Russian legislation preventing the import of spent fuel for processing and
storage.[3]
Sources: [1] "Russian Contract Extended to Fuel," Nuclear News,
no. 38, October 1995, p. 47. [2] ITAR-TASS, 7 February 1996; in "Novosibirsk Plant
to Supply Iran with Nuclear Fuel," FBIS-TAC-96-003.
[3] "U.S.-Russia talks on Iran continue; takeback of Iran fuel now settled," NuclearFuel,
22 July 2002.{entered 8/14/98 FW}
{Updated 9/3/2002 MJ}
Natural Uranium A secret protocol to the January 1995 Russo-Iranian nuclear cooperation
accord reportedly discussed the possibility of Russia providing Iran with
2,000 MT of natural uranium. The intended recipient of this material,
like the status of this aspect of the agreement, is unknown.
[David Albright et al., Plutonium and Highly Enriched
Uranium 1996: World Inventories, Capabilities, and Policies (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 353.] {entered 8/14/98 FW}
To return to the main
Nuclear Exports to Iran entry, see the Nuclear Exports to
Iran
file.
