Iran gets more Russian nuclear fuel

26 Jan, 2008 14:59 / Updated 16 years ago

Russia has delivered a fresh shipment of fuel to Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, which it is helping to build. Under the agreement, all the spent fuel from the facility will be sent back to Russia.

However, Iran says it will not stop its own uranium enrichment programme, which is the key demand of the UN Security Council. While Western powers suspect the programme is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, Iran says it's simply pursuing peaceful nuclear energy. Last December a U.S. Intelligence report said Iran had a nuclear weapons programme, but stopped it in 2003. However, the U.S. and its European allies are continuing to push for tougher sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Thus, a new draft resolution has been prepared and will soon go before the UN Security Council.