Iran cooler on Russian nuclear proposal

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's chief nuclear negotiator on Friday dampened hopes that Tehran was leaning toward a compromise solution put forward by Russia over its nuclear dispute with the West. ADVERTISEMENT

Speaking to reporters on his return from a visit to China, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said the Russian plan to enrich uranium for Iran was not enough on its own to meet Tehran's energy needs.

President George W. Bush on Thursday threw his weight behind the Russian proposal.

"I think that is a good plan," he told a news conference. "The Russians came up with the idea and I support it."

By producing enriched uranium for Iran under a joint venture in Russia, Moscow hopes to persuade Tehran it has no need to make its own enriched uranium. Enriched uranium can be used in both nuclear power reactors and, when highly enriched, atomic bombs.

Iran says it only wants nuclear technology to generate electricity, not make weapons.

Asked about Bush's comments, Larijani said: "We should not respond to what others say, we should rather discern what is in our interest. Whether they say it was positive or negative, it will not affect our decision very much."

Regarding the Russian proposal, Larijani said its "capacity is not sufficient for Iran's nuclear technology. It can be part of a package and taken into consideration within it."

Iran has said it plans to build as many as 20 nuclear power reactors, generating 20 GW of electricity over the next two decades. It has still not completed its first reactor, being built with Russian assistance in the Gulf port of Bushehr.

"It cannot be said that it is a negative proposal. We therefore considered it worthy of studying, and worthy of completion," Larijani said.

"A round of the talks was carried out, and the next round will take place too," he added.

Asked about China's position regarding U.S. and European Union efforts to refer Iran's case to the U.N. Security Council, Larijani said: "China's stance is that ... any rush and irrational behavior would lead to unfavorable conditions."

Regarding the Russian proposal, Larijani said its "capacity is not sufficient for Iran's nuclear technology. It can be part of a package and taken into consideration within it." --- Half truths and lies... so easy to expose. These guys are trying hard to start a war!

SOURCE: The Myth of Iranian Nuclear Fuel Self Sufficiency

Setting economics aside, even if speculative uranium deposits in Iran are assumed and included, Iran is not close to possessing sufficient uranium to fuel seven 1000 MWe for their lifetime. It is thus impossible for Iran to avoid dependence on a foreign supplier for its uranium fuel. Iran does not have enough uranium to fuel its planned reactors. Known uranium (1,427) + speculative (13,850) = 15,277 tons U. Assume Bushehr burns 22 tons of LEU annually, Iran’s stated nuclear plans show Iran will run out of uranium for its plants in 1 year with proven reserves and 10 years with proven and speculative reserves.

Global Estimated Uranium Reserves

Nuclear power plants

SOURCE: Russia’s Domestic Uranium Consumption and Stockpiles

Russia exports 16,000t of uranium each year, and uses 8,000-8,500t to produce nuclear fuel.[6] As of December 2000 it was estimated that Russian nuclear power stations used between 3,000t and 4,500t of uranium annually with an additional 2,200t committed to fuel Soviet-built reactors in the NIS and Eastern Europe. Approximately 1,000t is used to produce submarine fuel.[8,9,25]
Russia relies heavily on its large uranium stockpile to make up the difference between the uranium it annually exports and uses domestically (24,000-24,500t) and the uranium it annually mines (2,000-2,500t). Russia's stockpiles are equivalent to 500,000t of low-enriched uranium (LEU) . This figure takes into account 1,400t of highly enriched uranium (HEU) which is equivalent to 420,000t of LEU added to 80,000t of uranium that has been stockpiled over the years.[8]
Minatom plans to increase the number of civilian nuclear plants over the next 20 years and expand nuclear energy production, which would increase domestic consumption of uranium.[8] Viktor Ivanov, a spokesman for the Russian National Industrial Technology Research and Design Institute, stated in June 2000 that Russia will use approximately 10,000t of uranium annually beginning in 2010.[3]
EXPORT
Russian uranium exports come from three sources: uranium that is mined, uranium from stockpiles, and LEU that is downblended from HEU under the US-Russia HEU Deal. The last year statistics for Russian uranium exports were made public was in 1996, when approximately 16,000t was exported.[10] In December 2000, the director of Russia's Geologorazvedka State Research and Production Enterprise said that export volume remains at 16,000t.[10] According to the French company Cogema, Russia accounts for 40% of uranium supply to European countries.[10] Russia began exporting uranium in the mid-1970s to France, Spain, Great Britain, Belgium, and Germany. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, export to South Korea and the United States began.[11]

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