Iran Launches First Nuclear Power Plant

The fueling of Iran's first nuclear power plant is a symbol of Tehran's peaceful nuclear programme, Iranian officials said on Saturday

Head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi, at a joint press conference on Saturday with the Director of Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency, Sergei Kiriyenko, called the launch of Iran's first nuclear power energy a victory and a symbol of its peaceful nuclear programme.

Iran started loading fuel to the Bushehr power plant on Saturday in the south of the country, although the completion of the plant was originally planned for 1999.

According to Iranian officials, the extensive political and economic pressures by the US and other Israeli allies had delayed construction efforts.

Ali Akbar Salehi said the inauguration of Bushehr's power plant despite the ongoing sanctions by the United States and its allies was a sign of Iran's determination to achieve its legitimate objectives.

The Bushehr plant was a great international project operated under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Director of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency, Sergei Kiriyenko, told reporters on Saturday.

Salehi and Kiriyenko also signed the Bushehr operation protocol on Saturday.

Iranian officials say they expect to use their first nuclear-generated electricity two or three months following the launch of the plant.