"The issue of Bushehr nuclear power plant's fuel is not a new issue, and
plans had already been adopted for its shipment," Iranian Supreme National
Security Council secretary-general Ali Larijani said. "The shipment project
started as of today."
Officials said the nuclear fuel would accelerate efforts to complete the
1,000 megawatt Bushehr reactor, about four years behind schedule. They said
the $1 billion reactor could begin full operations by October 2008.
"The first shipment of fuel for the Bushehr plant has arrived in Iran,"
Iranian Atomic Energy Organization director-general Gholamreza Aqazadeh
said.
The United States, whose intelligence community determined that Teheran
abandoned its nuclear weapons program, did not protest the Russian nuclear
fuel shipment. A White House statement said the Russian delivery meant that
Teheran should end its uranium enrichment program.
"If the Russians are providing the Iranians fuel, the Iranians have no
reason to enrich uranium themselves," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe
said.