"The Russian side, in line with its contract, will deliver nuclear fuel for the Bushehr NPP," he told journalists.
According to the contract, fuel must be delivered to Bushehr six months prior to the commissioning of the plant, scheduled for September.
Russian specialists are completing the construction of Iran's first NPP under a $1 billion contract signed in 1995, but Iran has an outstanding debt for the construction services and construction might therefore take longer than previously expected.
The Bushehr facility has been a source of international dispute, with the United States and other Western countries raising concerns that Iran could use the project as part of a covert weapons program. Iran has consistently denied that its nuclear program has military goals.
A diplomatic source told RIA Novosti Tuesday that an Iranian delegation could arrive in Moscow for talks on the construction schedule March 7, and a source in the Russian nuclear power industry confirmed the report.
Iran is prepared to answer any questions about its nuclear research posed by the international nuclear watchdog, the country's foreign minister said Tuesday.
"If the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has any questions [with regard to Iran's nuclear program], they should ask so that a resolution [to the current crisis] can be found through dialogue," Manouchehr Mottaki said.
The IAEA Board of Governors convened Monday at its Vienna headquarters for a five-day session to discuss the possible suspension of at least 20 aid projects in Iran following a recent report by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, which concluded that Iran has ignored a UN Security Council demand to halt its uranium enrichment program and was in fact seeking to expand it.
In response to Iran's unwillingness to give up its nuclear ambitions, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1737 last December, which provided for sanctions against Iran banning activities involving uranium enrichment, chemical reprocessing, heavy water-based projects, and the production of nuclear weapons delivery systems.
The Iranian foreign minister reiterated Tuesday that the nuclear watchdog should continue its dialogue with Tehran and the country's nuclear dossier should be considered within the legal framework of the IAEA, and not at the UN Security Council.
"[Otherwise], it would violate [international] laws," Mottaki said, adding that Iran cooperates with the IAEA on the basis of mutual agreements and the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
He reiterated that it was possible to resolve the issue only through negotiations. "We can achieve an agreement only by means of constructive negotiations, which will include all [interested] parties," he said.
In a separate development, Iran said it would conduct air defense exercises Tuesday in preparation for a possible air strike on its uranium ore conversion center at Isfahan, the IRNA news agency said.
The international press has in recent months actively discussed the possibility of U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, but almost all key figures in the Bush administration have repeatedly refuted the existence of any plans to do so.
However, U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney has not ruled out a military strike, saying all options were on the table.
The nuclear center dealing with uranium ore conversion in Isfahan has an area of 120,000 square meters (360,000 square feet). Uranium ore is processed into a gaseous hexafluoride of uranium, which is then fed into a centrifuge cascade for enrichment.
Uranium enrichment using centrifuges is conducted at a plant in Natanz.
Larijani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Tuesday that any military strike against Iran would be ineffective.
"Any military actions against Iran will not only be ineffective, but would make the Iranian nation even more resolute," he said.
Larijani said the Iranian nuclear issue could only be resolved through talks.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have discussed the situation surrounding the Iranian nuclear program by telephone.
Larijani also said Tehran will resolutely respond to the adoption of a new resolution by the UN Security Council.
"If they adopt a new resolution, they will receive a serious response [from Iran] and conditions will change," he said.
