Iran says moves closer to nuclear plant launch

Sergei Kirienko (L), head of Russia's nuclear energy organization speaks with his Iranian counterpart Gholamreza Aghazadeh (R) during a tour of the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, 1200 kilometers (746 miles) south of Tehran February 25, 2009.

BUSHEHR, Iran (Reuters) - Iran said on Wednesday it had carried out successful tests at its Russian-built Bushehr atom power plant in a step toward its launch, part of a nuclear program which the West fears also has military aims.

The visiting head of Russia's state nuclear company, Sergei Kiriyenko, hailed "significant improvements" in the Islamic Republic's first such plant to produce electricity.

The West, which suspects Tehran's nuclear program is a cover for a drive to build bombs, has been critical of Russia's involvement in building Bushehr. Russia says it is purely civilian and cannot be used for any weapons program.

Iranian officials said they had conducted tests to inject "virtual" fuel into rods, using lead instead of enriched uranium, over the past 10 days.

"We're celebrating Bushehr's pre-commissioning which means we are getting closer to the launch of the plant," Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told reporters at the site in the country's southwest.

"This virtual fuel testing was successful," he said

Worries that Russia would not complete Bushehr for political reasons had now been removed, Aghazadeh told state television, adding further tests would be carried out in coming months.

Kiriyenko said on February 5 that Russia aimed to start up Bushehr's nuclear reactor, located on Iran's Gulf coast south of the city of the same name, by the end of the year.

The launch of Bushehr has been delayed frequently. Russia last year completed delivery of nuclear fuel to the station under a contract estimated to be worth about $1 billion.

"In recent months there have been significant improvements. I'm very satisfied with what I saw," Kiriyenko said on Wednesday at the dome-shaped Bushehr facility, which is surrounded by anti-aircraft guns.

NUCLEAR DISPUTE

State television showed images of a fuel rod being lowered into position inside the reactor.

Analysts say Iran could become a central issue in relations between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and new U.S. President Barack Obama, who has said that the United States is prepared to talk to Tehran in a break from his predecessor's approach.

They say Russia has used Bushehr as a lever in relations with Tehran, which is suspected by the United States and some European countries of seeking to build nuclear weapons.

Iran, the world's fourth-largest crude producer, rejects such allegations and says its nuclear program is aimed at generating electricity so that it can export more oil and gas.

It plans to build other power plants by 2020 as part of a planned network with a capacity of 20,000 megawatt.

Tehran's refusal to halt its most sensitive nuclear work has drawn three rounds of limited U.N. sanctions since 2006.

Russia started deliveries of nuclear fuel for the plant in late 2007, a step both Washington and Moscow said removed any need for Iran to have its own uranium enrichment program.

Moscow says Iran will return all spent fuel rods to Russia.

Enriched uranium can be used as fuel for power plants and also provide material for bombs if refined much further.

The U.N. nuclear agency watchdog said on Thursday Iran had slowed the expansion of its own uranium enrichment plant at Natanz but that it had built up a stockpile of nuclear fuel.

(Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Tehran; Writing by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Giles Elgood)