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• A new deal for Iran

  Iran has been presented with a new incentives to open up on its historic nuclear programs. The country could enjoy cooperation in nuclear power and a range of political and economic benefits if it allows a complete characterisation of its nuclear program. Posted Jun 16 2008, 10:36 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: Iran

• Alleged studies now the focus

  Iran has continued to enrich uranium in defiance of UN Security Council demands, but the most serious questions for the country now concern research not closely related to nuclear power. Posted May 28 2008, 10:49 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: Iran

• Man accused of illegal use of US software in Iran

  [Associated Press, 14 May] The trial has begun of an engineer accused of illegally taking software from the Palo Verde nuclear power plant in Arizona and using it in Iran. Prosecutors claim that Mohammad Reza Alavi, a 50-year-old naturalised US citizen, broke the US trade embargo with Iran in 2006 by taking training software from the plant, where he worked as a software engineer, and later downloading codes in Iran that allowed him to open it. The training software was used to simulate the control room at the plant and contained detailed plant information, such as the schematics of its design. Plant operators said the unauthorised use of the software did not pose a security risk because it contained no information on plant security. Authorities said that plant operators had blocked Alavi's access to the software after he resigned, but had failed to notify the vendor of the software. The engineer was still able to access a website run by the vendor, which provided access codes to use the software. Alavi's attorney said that the engineer, who worked at Palo Verde between 1989 and August 2006, was merely showing his relatives in Iran what he did for a living out of a sense of pride. The trial is expected to last three to four weeks. Posted May 15 2008, 11:53 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: Iran

• Iranian uranium mill to open within a year

  [Associated Press, 10 April] Iran will open a new plant to process ore from its own uranium mines before the end of March 2009, according to Hossein Faghihian, deputy head in charge of nuclear fuel at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. The plant, at Ardakan in central Iran – not far from Iran's uranium mining activities at Saghand – is to have a capacity of 70 tons per year, according to Faghihian. This is thought to be more than Iran's existing uranium processing plant which has been operating at Bandar Abbas in the south of the country since 2006. Faghihian was quoted on Iranian state television as saying that the opening of the new facility would enable the country's uranium needs to be met. Iran has its own uranium conversion plant and is developing a controversial uranium enrichment program, although its uranium reserves are widely believed to be insufficient for a nuclear power program. The country has, however, begun producing its own fuel for use in a 40 MW heavy water-moderated "research" reactor under construction at Arak, which does not require enriched uranium. Fuel loading, using Russian-supplied fuel, is due to begin this summer at Iran's first nuclear power reactor at Bushehr. Posted Apr 10 2008, 09:46 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: Iran

• Iran announces new centrifuges on 'Nuclear Day'

  [IRNA, RIA Novosti, CNN, 8 April] Iran celebrated its National Day of Nuclear Technology on 8 April, marking the second anniversary of Tehran officially declaring that it had produced the first batch of low-enriched uranium at Natanz required for the production of nuclear fuel. The Iranian people had been promised some interesting news in advance. Yesterday, whilst touring the Natanz plant, president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran has embarked on a plan to install 6000 IR-2 design centrifuges to enrich uranium. The productive capacity of these centrifuges is said to be 250% higher than that of their predecessors. Ahmadinejad said that installation of the new centrifuges began on Tuesday and that they will become operational at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant over the course of the year, according to Iranian news agencies. Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying: "Iran last year installed 3000 centrifuges and entered the stage of enrichment. And in the current year, new centrifuges will become operational, which is a sign of Islamic Iran's outstanding successes and achievements." The president also promised "good news" in the fields of "peaceful nuclear energy, aerospace and agriculture" and "eye-catching" work in science, economy and culture. Posted Apr 08 2008, 05:00 PM by World Nuclear News Filed under: Iran

• Iran faces third round of UN sanctions

  The United Nations Security Council has authorized further sanctions against Iran over its failure to suspend its uranium enrichment activities. Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and does not fall under the Security Council's remit. Posted Mar 04 2008, 11:18 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: Iran

• Iran cooperates, but questions remain

  Iran has been cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency, but has continued its uranium enrichment work and important questions relating to weapons remain. Posted Feb 25 2008, 10:31 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: Iran

• Russia, Iran to initially jointly operate Bushehr

  Russia and Iran held a meeting at the Bushehr nuclear power plant to discuss the commissioning of the first reactor and the formation of a joint venture to initially operate it. Posted Feb 18 2008, 12:01 PM by World Nuclear News Filed under: Russia, Iran

• Iran to soon clarify nuclear program

  [RIA Novosti, 12 January; IAEA, 13 January] Iran has agreed to clarify all outstanding questions over its past nuclear activities within one month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced following a two-day visit to Iran by its director general, Mohamed ElBaradei. Whilst in Iran, ElBaradei met with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Posted Jan 14 2008, 09:53 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: Iran

• ASE: Bushehr to start in late 2008

  [RIA Novosti, 20 December] The Bushehr nuclear power plant under construction in Iran will not be commissioned until late 2008 at the earliest, according to Russian contractor AtomStroyExport (ASE). On 13 December, ASE reported that Moscow and Tehran had reached agreement on a schedule for completing construction of Bushehr. "I promised to verify the timeframe for the construction of the Bushehr nuclear plant, but I can say with certainty that the plant will not be commissioned before the end of 2008," said ASE director Sergey Shmatko. The announcement came days after Iran received its first delivery of nuclear fuel for the plant. However, under a Russian-Iranian agreement on Bushehr, nuclear fuel deliveries to the plant start about six months ahead of its commissioning. Posted Dec 20 2007, 10:30 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: New Nuclear Plants, Iran

• Russia delivers nuclear fuel to Iranian reactor

  On 16 December, Russia delivered the first shipment of fuel for the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which it is helping to construct in Iran. Posted Dec 17 2007, 08:20 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: Russia, Iran