TEHRAN, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Iran is ready to start considering exporting services for third parties to conduct research into nuclear energy, an energy director said.
Iran is facing increased economic pressure from its Western adversaries concerned about the nature of its nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency last year said there could be some military aspects to Iran's nuclear program, though Tehran maintains its intentions are peaceful.
Fereydoun Abbasi, head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, said the country could soon start exporting services related to nuclear energy, state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports.
During the weekend, Abbasi added that Iran could start enriching uranium at the Fardow enrichment plant at full capacity as early as next month.
Iran in September started operations at its Bushehr nuclear plant with the help of Moscow. Russia, under an agreement with Iran, operates and supplies fuel for the Bushehr plant. The first unit at Bushehr has the capacity to generate 1,000 megawatts of power.
Iran, in a 117-page response to IAEA claims, said many of the concerns are related to outdated developments in the Iranian nuclear program.
