05 January 2012

US energy analysts: Iran’s nuclear fuel rod is not for atomic weapons

According to energy analysts in the US, Iran’s development of a nuclear fuel rod for medical research isn’t a milestone in a quest for atomic weapons. Iran is the world’s third-biggest oil exporter and that moreover it denies pursuing atomic weapons and climes it’s developing nuclear technology for civilian purposes

By Gobby Wang | Taiwan News | January 5, 2012

“This has some diplomatic significance and virtually no military significance,” James Acton, a senior associate in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said yesterday in a telephone interview.

“Even though Iran’s announcement sends a signal that the country may have the ability to develop fuel for research uses without external help, such units need uranium that’s less concentrated than what’s needed to make weapons,” he said.

Iranian state news agencies reported January 1 showed that the first fuel rod was inserted into the core of Tehran’s atomic research reactor, which makes isotopes used in cancer treatments. The leak triggered alarms amid US and European Union leaders who state Iran may be developing a covert nuclear-weapons program and are seeking to prevent development.

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