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Give the good ship Juliano some props -- literally. The Swedish-flagged craft was in the Greek port of Piraeus as part of a flotilla seeking to challenge Israel’s naval security cordon around Gaza when, according to flotilla organizers, “hostile divers destroyed the [ship’s] propeller house and cut the propeller shaft.” It seems that someone one-upped the peaceniks’ attempt to create an international incident. They should count themselves lucky no-one was hurt. Last year nine demonstrators were killed when they attacked Israeli naval commandos boarding the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara. And there are more direct responses in more serious cases. In...

Five Russian scientists who died in a plane crash on Tuesday had been helping Iran with nuclear secrets, it has been revealed. They were among 45 killed when the plane's lights failed in heavy fog and careered into a motorway before bursting into flames - leading conspiracy theorists to believe it was a deliberate plot to kill the nuclear experts. Russian security sources confirmed that the dead scientists worked at the controversial Bushehr nuclear plant on the Iranian Persian Gulf.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Thursday said that Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant will be operational within weeks, according to the Itar-Tass news agency. "We are keeping up with the schedule, which was adjusted by request of Iranian partners. I can confirm that it (the full operation) is a matter of few weeks," Ryabkov was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, Russia's Atomic Energy Agency Rosatom confirmed that Russian nuclear fuel manufacturer TVEL has supplied 30 tons of fuel for refueling the reactor at the Bushehr plant. Citing a Rosatom spokesman, Interfax said the fuel was to be loaded into...

(Reuters) - Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station has begun operating at a low level in a crucial step toward bringing it online, the Russian company that built the plant said on Tuesday. The reactor near the Persian Gulf was brought to the "minimum controllable level of power" on Sunday, state-run RIA reported, citing the state company Atomstroyexport.

Moscow, April 8 (IANS) Iran Friday began reloading nuclear fuel into the reactor of its Bushehr power plant, Xinhua reported. The refuelling is being carried out after a series of checks completed on the plant, said Russian state-run contractor Atomstroyexport, which is carrying out the task. 'On April 8, 2011, loading of fuel into the core began at Bushehr,' the company said in a statement, adding all operations are being carried out as per schedule agreed with Iran. ... The construction of the plant started in 1975 by German companies. However, the work was halted after the US imposed an...

03/04/11 Bushehr Setbacks Trigger Iranian Nuclear-Safety Concerns By Robert Tait, RFE/RL Repeated delays in the opening of a showpiece Iranian nuclear reactor are triggering concerns over Tehran's ability to safely run a civilian nuclear-power plant without the risk of a catastrophic accident, analysts say. The worries have been provoked by latest setback to hit the Bushehr plant where -- according to a report published last week on Iran's nuclear activities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) -- engineers are being forced to remove 163 fuel rods. Russia's state nuclear energy corporation, Rosatom -- whose scientists have helped to build...

February 28, 2011 Russians Say Damaged Cooling Pump Is Cause of Delay in Starting Iranian Reactor By WILLIAM J. BROAD Russia on Monday explained why fuel is being removed from a nuclear reactor in Iran, delaying plans to start up the giant plant this month. The Russian account, the first official rationale, came after experts last week offered theories of the failure ranging from a startup glitch to foul play. In a statement, Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation, Rosatom, which is building the reactor in Bushehr, Iran, said it found damage to one of the reactor’s four main cooling pumps....

Tehran reportedly told IAEA that mechanical issue forced it to remove fuel from nuclear reactor; expert calls it a "serious problem."

Today, Iran confirmed a UN report that it will have to remove the uranium fuel rod assemblies from the reactor core, a significant setback. The reactor has been under construction since the Shah's era in the 1970's. The fuel assemblies were finally introduced into the reactor four months ago and it was meant to start producing electricity in January, but that deadline was missed. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Tehran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the ISNA news agency that the fuel was being removed on Russian advice: Based on Russia's request to run tests and technical measures, the...

TEHRAN, Iran -- In a major setback to Iran's nuclear program, technicians will have to unload fuel from the country's first atomic power plant because of an unspecified safety concern, a senior government official said. The vague explanation raised questions about whether the mysterious computer worm known as Stuxnet might have caused more damage at the Bushehr plant than previously acknowledged. Other explanations are possible for unloading the fuel rods from the reactor core of the newly completed plant, including routine technical difficulties. While the exact reason behind the fuel's removal is unclear, the admission is seen as a major...

TEHRAN, Iran – In a major setback to Iran's nuclear program, technicians will have to unload fuel from the country's first atomic power plant because of an unspecified safety concern, a senior government official said. The vague explanation raised questions about whether the mysterious computer worm known as Stuxnet might have caused more damage at the Bushehr plant than previously acknowledged. Other explanations are possible for unloading the fuel rods from the reactor core of the newly completed plant, including routine technical difficulties.

Federal investigators trying to find out who leaked information about a CIA attempt to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program obtained a New York Times reporter’s three private credit reports, examined his personal bank records and obtained information about his phone calls and travel, according to a new court filing. The scope and intrusiveness of the government’s efforts to uncover reporter James Risen’s sources surfaced Thursday in the criminal case of Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer facing federal criminal charges for allegedly disclosing classified information. Sterling is accused of giving Risen details about what Risen describes as the CIA’s plan to...

CNN) -- In a possible setback to its nuclear program, Iran is unloading fuel assemblies from the reactor at a plant already plagued by delays, according to a report issued Friday by the global nuclear watchdog agency. The Russian-built plant in the Persian Gulf city Bushehr was expected to produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity and was considered a showcase for nuclear power to be used for civilian purposes in Iran. It was supposed to be operational by the first quarter of this year. Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), however, said the fuel removal was temporary. "Upon...

Iran told atomic inspectors this week that it had run into a serious problem at a newly completed nuclear reactor that was supposed to start feeding electricity into the national grid this month, raising questions about whether the trouble was sabotage, a startup problem, or possibly the beginning of the project’s end. In a report on Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran told inspectors on Wednesday that it was planning to unload nuclear fuel from its Bushehr reactor — the sign of a major upset. For years, Tehran has hailed the reactor as a showcase of its peaceful...

Iran has conducted defence drills at its sensitive nuclear facilities, a senior commander told media on Sunday, adding that fresh aerial war games will be launched across the country next week. "This year, we carried out tactical drills which resembled real combat in Fordo, Tehran, Natanz, Bushehr and Isfahan," where the country's nuclear plants are located, the Mehr news agency quoted Ahmad Mighani as saying. Mighani did not specify when exactly the exercises were conducted.

Finance minister calls for naval blockade within two to six months. Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz called Monday for a naval blockade of Iran within two to six months, saying sanctions have failed to convince the Islamic republic to abandon its nuclear weapons program. “We’ll need more than talk and sanctions,” Steinitz told a meeting here of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations. “It’s high time the West and the United States gave Iran a deadline to change its behavior. … We need a clear deadline for Iran to become open for inspection otherwise the ramifications should be...

TEHRAN — Iran's atomic chief said on Wednesday that the country's first nuclear power plant will be ready to generate electricity by January -- two months later than announced. Ali Akbar Salehi said that the process of placing fuel rods at the Bushehr facility, built by Russia, would be completed by the "middle of" the Iranian month of Aban, around November 7, the state television's website reported. "Two or three months from then, the electricity generated by the plant will be connected to the grid," said Salehi, chief of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation. Iran began loading the Russian-supplied fuel rods...

Iran is going nuclear over a malicious computer worm targeting the country's atomic energy facilities. The Stuxnet worm has targeted not only Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant -- scheduled to go online in a matter of weeks -- but also the personal computers of the government's nuclear officials, the country's national news agency reports. Iran has not yet publically pointed blame to the West, but several Internet security experts publicly stated that they suspect that a hostile government such as the U.S. or Israel may be behind the cyberattack. "This would not be easy for a normal group to put together,"...

The world’s first cyber ‘super weapon’ may have been designed to attack a nuclear power station in Iran, experts believe. A computer virus called Stuxnet has been described as the most sophisticated 'worm' ever created and has already infected more than 45,000 networks worldwide. A 'worm' is a type of computer virus that can reproduce by sending copies of itself to any PC that is connected to the infected machine. Now internet security experts fear that Stuxnet, which was first detected in June, is the first 'worm' specifically created to target real-world infrastructure such as power stations and water plants....

The Iranian regime loves to boast of its military strength, international clout and hold on domestic power. Much of this is accepted by outside experts, but in fact the regime is in trouble. Iran's leaders have lost legitimacy in the eyes of the people, are unable to manage the country's many problems, face a growing opposition, .... A few weeks ago, according to official and private reports, the Iranian air force shot down three drones near the southwestern city of Bushehr, where a Russian-supplied nuclear reactor has just started up. When the Revolutionary Guards inspected the debris, they expected to...