Russia will sign an agreement in December to receive spent nuclear fuel from Iran, ITAR-TASS news agency reported.
“Now there are no technical or political reasons not to sign such a protocol during the forthcoming visit to Tehran by the head of the Russian atomic agency Alexander Rumyantsev,” the agency quoted an Iranian official as saying.
Ali Akbar Soltani, deputy director general of political and international affairs in Iran’s Foreign Ministry was quoted by the agency as saying only a few financing details remained and they would be settled a month before the visit.
The agency quoted the Russian Atomic Ministry as saying the visit would take place in the second half of December.
Russia insisted on this deal to mitigate U.S. concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran says the program is peaceful but the United States fears the fuel could be used to make weapons. Russia completed work on an $800 million reactor in the Iranian city of Bushehr in mid-October.
