Special Report: Iran Nuclear Crisis

U.S. President George W. Bush speaks during a trip to Fredericksburg, Virginia Dec. 17, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said Monday that Iran would have no legitimate need to enrich uranium at home after Russian deliveries of nuclear fuel to the Islamic Republic.

    "If the Russians are willing to do that -- which I support -- then the Iranians do not need to learn how to enrich. If the Iranians accept that uranium for a civilian nuclear power plant, then there's no need for them to learn how to enrich," Bush told a mass rally in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

    "Iran was a threat to peace, Iran is a threat to peace, and Iran will be a threat to peace if we don't stop their enrichment," Bush said.

U.S. President George W. Bush speaks during a trip to Fredericksburg, Virginia Dec. 17, 2007. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Insisting that Iran is "heading down a path of isolation right now and economic sanctions," Bush said "We passed two resolutions out of the U.N. and (U.S. Secretary of State) Condi Rice is working on a third."

    Also on Monday, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters here that Russian nuclear supplies to Iran is another reason for Tehran to suspend its sensitive uranium enrichment.

    "This fuel delivery provides Iran with one more reason to suspend their nuclear program. If the Russians are providing the Iranians fuel, the Iranians have no reason to enrich uranium themselves," Johndroe said.

    Bush and Johndroe made the remarks about Iran after the Russian contractor company Atomstroiexport announced earlier in the day that Russia supplied the first batch of nuclear fuel to Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant.

    A total of 163 main and 17 reserve assemblies of U-235 enriched to 3.62 percent would be delivered for the first loading, the company said in a statement. All the deliveries will be made in several stages over two months.

    Washington accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran always denies U.S. charges, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

An Iranian flag flies outside the building housing the reactor of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, in the Iranian port town of Bushehr April 2007. Russia has started nuclear fuel deliveries to Iran's first atomic power station as Tehran defied international pressure by announcing plans to produce more fuel for its nuclear programme. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

Russia supplies nuclear fuel to Iran

    MOSCOW, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Monday supplied the first batch of nuclear fuel to Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant (NPP) that was contracted by a Russian company, news agencies reported, citing the contractor company Atomstroiexport.

    A total of 163 main and 17 reserve assemblies of U-235 enriched to 3.62 percent would be delivered for the first loading, the company said in a statement. All the deliveries will be made in several stages over two months.  Full story 

First nuclear fuel arrives in Iran from Russia

    TEHRAN, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- A senior Iranian nuclear official said on Monday that the first shipment of nuclear fuel from Russia for Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station has arrived in the country, the official IRNA news agency reported.

    "The first shipment arrived in Iran on Monday and the transfer of the fuel will continue according to the timetable," Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, was quoted as saying. Full story

Russia, Iran reach agreement on nuclear power station

    MOSCOW, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Russia and Iran have reached an agreement on the Bushehr nuclear power station in Iran.

    "We have resolved all the problems with the Iranians," said Sergei Shmatko, president of Russian state contractor Atomstroiexport, on Thursday. Full story