Iran to resume nuclear fuel research

TEHRAN, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Iran announced Monday it was resuming nuclear fuel research under international supervision, the state IRNA news agency reported.

"As announced, nuclear research will be resumed in Iran today in the presence of International Atomic Energy Agency representatives," government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said. "Resumption of research is not subject to legal prohibitions. It was suspended voluntarily."

Tehran's nuclear fuel research was suspended October 2003, along with its uranium enrichment, a key step to build nuclear fuel.

A Russian delegation, headed by Security Council Deputy Secretary Valentin Sobolev, arrived last Thursday in Tehran for discussions on a recent compromise proposal made by Moscow that the two sides establish a joint venture in Russia to enrich uranium for Iran.