Iran proposes to jointly produce nuke fuel with Russia

Iran has made a proposal to Moscow to jointly produce nuclear fuel for its Russian-built Bushehr plant and future facilities, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization was quoted as saying Thursday.

"We have made a proposal to Russia for the creation of a consortium, licensed by that country, to do part of the work in Russia and part of it in Iran," the IRNA agency quoted Ali Akbar Salehi as saying.

"Moscow is studying this offer," he added. "We (Iran) should show the world our capability in uranium production and transforming it to nuclear fuel."

Last week Russia started fueling Iran's first and long-delayed nuclear power plant near Bushehr.

Iran is currently under four sets of UN Security Council sanctions for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. The Islamic State has downplayed the sanctions and continued rattling its saber, showing off a new domestically built missile Wednesday.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will reportedly discuss the equipping and modernization of the Lebanese army by Iran during an upcoming visit to Beirut, Iran's Press TV said Thursday.

Agencies