By IANS,
Tehran : The Iranian government has given its nod to the setting up of a new nuclear plant by the end of this year, a senior official said.
“The president has confirmed the designated location of a new nuclear site and the construction process of the new site will begin upon the president’s order,” Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi, advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) Monday.
He said the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) plans to build the plant this year and the process is currently underway, Press TV reported.
AEOI Chief Ali Akbar Salehi announced in February that Iran would start the construction of two new enrichment sites by March 2011. Iran has already started enriching uranium to the level of less than 20 percent for a nuclear research reactor in Tehran which produces medical isotopes.
The decision was made after the West failed to respond to Iran’s concerns over a UN-brokered nuclear fuel swap deal which required Iran to send most of its low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing and conversion into fuel rods for the research reactor.
“We have started to enrich uranium domestically based on our need to provide fuel for the Tehran research reactor and this process will continue until our needs are met,” Samareh Hashemi said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Sunday that Iran plans to hold talks with all members of the United Nations Security Council over the nuclear fuel swap deal.