Iran moves forward with uranium enrichment

TEHRAN, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The head of Iran's atomic agency says the country is now converting its own yellow cake uranium, which means its nuclear program is now self-sufficient.

Atomic Energy Organization chief Ali Akbar Salehi told Press TV Sunday that Iran will no longer have to import the uranium and will now mine and process it within its own borders to create nuclear power.

"Iran will witness no problem for yellow cake supplies anymore," he said. "Today, we are witnessing a very remarkable achievement. The ill-wishers and those who have a grudge against Iran have always made efforts to strike fear and despair into the younger Iranian generation, the academics, engineers and the Iranian nation."

The yellow cake was produced from uranium ore extracted from the Gachin mine in Bandar Abbas, in the south of the country and will be converted into uranium hexafluoride (UF6) for enrichment, the report said.

The Tehran Times said Iran has finished loading fuel into the core of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which Salehi said was a vital step toward getting the plant operational. He said the goal is to have it connected to the national power grid by February next year.

Salehi said the Islamic Republic plants to build enough nuclear power plants in the next 20 years that will have the capacity of generating 20,000 megawatts of electricity, the paper said.

Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalill will meet with Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, in Geneva Monday to discuss the uranium enrichment program, the Tehran Times said.

Iran has denied claims by the United States and its EU allies that it is working to create nuclear weapons.