YEREVAN, Armenia, April 23 (UPI) -- Russia's top nuclear official Monday said there are no political obstacles blocking Russia from resuming construction of a nuclear power plant in Iran.
Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia's Federal Agency for Nuclear Power, discussed Moscow's construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran during a visit to Armenia, the Russian information agency Novosti reported.
"The Bushehr nuclear power plant poses no threat to the nuclear non-proliferation regime, therefore there are no political obstacles to continuing its construction," Kiriyenko said. "The fact that we supply nuclear fuel and then take back spent nuclear fuel guarantees that Iran will not use the irradiated fuel in the future."
Iran has refused to halt its enrichment of uranium, feeding international speculation that its nuclear program is for weapons development. Iranian officials have insisted it is solely for energy production.
Kiriyenko said work had stopped on the Bushehr project for technical reasons, RIA Novosti reported. There had been speculation that Russia was using the project to encourage Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment program.
