Iran is rapidly constructing nuclear facilities to achieve its goal of having an indigenous fuel cycle capability. Iran's nuclear program operates numerous facilities throughout the country, including the Nuclear Research Center in Tehran, (TNRC), the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center (INTC), Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine, and the Beneficiation and Hydrometalurgical Research Center (BHRC). In addition to these, there have been new revelations about Iran's centrifuge enrichment program located in Natanz and heavy water related activity in Arak. Finally, the Bushehr nuclear reactor, when completed, will be Iran's first nuclear power plant when it goes on-line in the coming year. Within the next 10 years, there will likely be at least one, possibly more, power reactors built in Iran.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) is the government agency that oversees Iran's nuclear program, and is one of the few agencies in Iran that reports directly to the president. It was created in 1973 to oversee a 23,000MW nuclear power program in Iran. However, the organization has since undergone several revisions in mission and structure. It is unclear how many people presently work at AEOI. According to international observers of AEOI, the organization once had 4,500 employees. After the Islamic Revolution, however, many leading nuclear scientists left the country, and in the 1990, the AEOI reportedly employed "around 200 scientists and 2,000 personnel engaged in nuclear research."[1]

Research and development of the nuclear fuel cycle has been highlighted as a key function of the AEOI. The organization consists of five separate divisions: Research, Nuclear Power Plant, Nuclear Fuel Production, Nuclear Regulatory Authority, and Planning, Education, and Parliamentary Affairs. Two of these, Research and Fuel Production, are essential to develop a complete nuclear fuel cycle in Iran.

The responsibility of the Research Division is to plan and guide all nuclear-related research projects and to develop peaceful nuclear technologies in Iran. It does so by coordinating activities of several nuclear research centers, most notably the TNRC and INTC. The TNRC operates, among other things, a 5MW research reactor. The INTC is home to a miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR), other research reactors, and subcritical assemblies. The TNRC and INTC manage various departments, facilities, and laboratories. Over the years, these laboratories have conducted research into conversion (a hexafluoride plant in Isfahan and at the Jabr Ibn Hayan Multipurpose Laboratories -JHL), enrichment, and reprocessing (analysis and separation experiments using US-supplied hot cells, and radioisotope production at the TNRC).

The Nuclear Fuel Production Division (NFPD) of the AEOI is responsible for research and development of uranium exploration, mining, milling, conversion, fuel production, and waste management. The NFPD maintains facilities in Yazd province to explore and exploit uranium deposits. The Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center in Isfahan houses various chemical, engineering, and metallurgical laboratories, the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) and the zero power reactor. The Benefication and Hydrometallurgical Research Center (BHRC) operates facilities involved in the production of yellowcake.

AEOI's activities and facilities have been tied to several universities. Faculty from the Physics and Nuclear Science Department at Amir Kabir University in Tehran have worked closely with various AEOI components, including the Nuclear Fusion Department, the JHL laboratory, the Laser Research Center, the TNRC, and the Nuclear Power Plant Division. Additionally, personnel from Saghand University cooperate with AEOI staff to conduct research in mining and milling of uranium at BHRC laboratories.

After numerous allegations by opposition groups and Western governments, Iran announced that it was constructing several new facilities. The most important of these are the Natanz uranium enrichment plant (comprising a pilot- and commercial-scale fuel enrichment facility), a fuel fabrication plant at Isfahan, a uranium metal purification and casting laboratory, and a 40MW heavy water research reactor (IR-40) in Arak. The presence of these facilities confirms Iran's growing determination to achieve a full nuclear fuel cycle. Iran claims that all its facilities are necessary for a peaceful and self-sufficient nuclear program. However, analysts question the need for several components, particularly those in which the feedstock or product is either provided by a supplier country (fuel production plant) or that do not fit in the general scheme of Iran's overall nuclear program (uranium metal laboratory). These facilities and Iran's overall program are currently undergoing close scrutiny by the international community and will likely remain so until controversy over the facilities' purpose and capability can be resolved.

	Updated January 2006