The enrichment of 20-percent uranium is done “based on our needs and once the required fuel is obtained, we will decrease the production and we may even totally shift it to the 3.5 percent,” Abbasi said in a televised interview Saturday night, IRNA reported.
The AEOI chief said that Iran decided to boost its capability in producing 20-percent enriched uranium in terms of quantity, reiterating that Tehran does not need to enrich uranium at a level above 20 percent.
He also said the Islamic Republic does not plan to produce 20% enriched uranium for long.
“We are going to produce and store [20-percent enriched uranium] to some extent in order to provide fuel for Tehran’s [Research] Reactor for a few years or to predict fuel needs of another research reactor” if Majlis gives the go-ahead for the construction of a new research reactor for the further production of radiopharmaceuticals, he added.
The senior nuclear official said that Iran is no longer interested in a fuel swap deal with potential suppliers who refused to provide fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor, adding that Tehran has invested significantly in facilities capable of enriching uranium to 20 percent.
Iran decided to enrich uranium to the 20 percent level to provide fuel for Tehran's Research Reactor, which produces medical isotopes for cancer patients, after potential suppliers failed to provide the Islamic Republic with the required uranium.
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The director of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI), Fereydoun Abbassi, says Tehran enriches uranium to the level of 20 percent to the extent that it meets Iran’s needs.
News ID 181681
