Iran plans to work on the discovery and extraction of uranium, ISNA news agency said on Wednesday citing the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi.
"After the Bushehr Power Plant, exploration and exploitation of uranium is on the agenda," Salehi said. "This issue is going on well," he continued.
"We are now working on the discovery and extraction of uranium and the project is advancing," he said.
The project is expected to be completed in 7-8 years, Salehi said. "Iranian scientists' findings have been promising so far," he added.
Last Saturday, Iran saw the physical startup of the first power generating unit of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.
The construction of Iran's first nuclear plant was begun in 1975 by several German construction companies. They pulled out following a U.S. embargo on hi-tech supplies to Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the subsequent U.S. Embassy siege in Tehran.
Russia signed a contract with Iran to complete construction in February 1998.
Tehran submitted in July a letter to IAEA Director General Yukio Amano, which expressed Iran's readiness to hold technical discussions on the supply of 20%-enriched fuel to Iran for use in its Tehran scientific research reactor.
Turkey and Brazil are to be included in the negotiation process.
Russia welcomed Tehran's proposals, but the Western members of the so-called Iran Six group, which also includes Britain, China, France, Germany, and the United States, have yet to provide a clear response.
Turkey, Brazil and Iran signed an agreement on May 17, dubbed the Tehran Declaration, in which Iran committed itself to giving 1,200 kg of its 3.5%-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for 20%-enriched uranium it would receive from Western countries to be used as fuel in the nuclear research reactor near Tehran.
Last week, Salehi, said Tehran was awaiting an official response from the Iran Six on the settlement of Iran's nuclear program. Salehi said the negotiations would create an air of trust between the parties involved.
Western powers suspect Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons under the guise of its nuclear program, which Tehran says is aimed at the peaceful generation of civilian energy.
Senior diplomats from the Iran Six met Iranian officials in Geneva last October to discuss an agreement on a nuclear fuel swap, but the agreement eventually fell through.
The draft agreement proposed by former IAEA chief Mohammed ElBaradei would have seen Iran send out about 80% of its known 1.5 metric tons of low-enriched uranium to Russia, where it would have been enriched, and to France to convert it into fuel plates for the research reactor in Tehran.
International pressure on Iran increased in early February when Tehran announced it had begun enriching uranium to 20% in lieu of an agreement on an exchange that would provide it with fuel for a research reactor.
On June 9, 2010, the UN Security Council approved a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, including tougher financial controls and an expanded arms embargo, as well as an asset ban on three dozen companies and a travel freeze on individuals.
Later, the United States and the European Union imposed extra sanctions against Iran, including tougher restrictions on the energy sector and a tougher trade embargo.
The construction of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant has not been affected by the sanctions.
MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti)
