After decades of delay, engineers finally began loading theRussia-supplied fuel into the plant in the southern port of Bushehr, inthe presence of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, astatement by Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation said.
“The operation of transferring nuclear fuel to the reactor wascarried out on 30th of Mordad (August 21) in presence of Ali AkbarSalehi, vice president and head of Iran's atomic body, and SergeiKiriyenko,” the head of Russian atomic body, Rosatom, the statementsaid.
It said the 163 rods of fuel will be “transferred into the core of the reactor after necessary inspections.”
Last week, Salehi said the transfer of fuel into the reactor would be complete by September 5.
On Friday, Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation spokesman AliShirzadian said the one-billion-dollar plant's actual commissioningwould come in October or November when the electricity it generatesconnects to the national grid.
The much-anticipated launch comes despite the fact that Moscow, along-time nuclear ally, has hardened its position on Tehran's nuclearprogramme.
In June, Russia backed a fourth round of UN sanctions against Iranover its uranium enrichment, the most controversial part of its atomicprogramme and which the West believes is aimed at making nuclearweapons, a charge Tehran strongly denies.
Iran says it is enriching uranium to power nuclear reactors so itcan eventually generate electricity of around 20,000 megawatts.
Iran insists it needs nuclear power for when its fossil fuels eventually run out.
On Friday, Salehi said Iran will continue enriching uranium to makefuel for the Bushehr plant as Tehran might not always buy it fromMoscow.
“The Bushehr plant has a lifespan of 60 years and we plan to use itfor 40 years. Suppose we buy fuel for 10 years from Russia. What are wegoing to do for the next 30 to 50 years?” state news agency IRNA quotedhim as saying.
Russia has already supplied 82 tonnes of fuel for Bushehr and plans to take back the spent material to avoid any misuse.
On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said theBushehr plant would keep Iran firmly fixed to the peaceful use ofnuclear power.
“It is a most important anchor which keeps Iran within the regime of non-proliferation,” he said.
Mark Fitzpatrick, an expert in non-proliferation at theInternational Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said Bushehris not a proliferation risk “as long as it is run to produce power forelectricity generation.”
“It would be a risk if Iran operated it differently, i.e. for shortperiods at low-burn up in order to produce weapons-usable plutonium —but in this case the IAEA would know,” he said of the UN atomicwatchdog.
Work on the Bushehr plant, which is not targeted under UN or othersanctions, began in the 1970s under the rule of the US-backed shahusing contractors from German firm Siemens.
The project was shelved when the shah was toppled in the 1979Islamic revolution, and was revived a decade later under currentsupreme leader Ali Khamenei.
In 1994, Russia agreed to complete its construction, but since then“technical problems” and squabbling between Moscow and Tehran delayedits completion.
Fresh doubts over Bushehr were raised after Moscow voted for thelatest UN sanctions, followed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedevcommenting that Tehran was close to attaining the potential to build anuclear weapon.
This triggered an angry response from Iran, as Moscow's position hasalways been that Tehran has the right to peaceful nuclear energy.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, accused Moscow ofdelaying Bushehr's start-up, saying “it is hard to believe that thetechnical issues continue to delay the completion of the plant over thepast 15 years.”
Bushehr has always been seen as a potential target in the event of amilitary strike by Iran's arch-foes the United States and Israel whichhave never ruled out military action against Tehran's nuclear programme.
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