Iran to Sell Surplus Heavy Water Production to US: AEOI
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Deputy Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Asghar Zare’an announced that the country will sell 40 tons of surplus heavy water it produces in Arak nuclear reactor to the United States through a third party.
The country plans to produce 20 tons of heavy water in Arak nuclear reactor annually, and will sell the surplus amount to foreign clients, Zare’an said on Tuesday.
“Six tons of Iran’s exported heavy water will be used in atomic centers and the rest in the US research centers,” the Iranian official declared.
Thanks to the recent efforts, Iran has joined the club of countries that produce strategic nuclear materials including UF6 and heavy water, he asserted, adding that Tehran will be able to compete with producers of such products henceforth.
“In the consortium established in this field in Western countries, the Islamic Republic of Iran will officially become a member, and this is a national achievement and a victory,” Zare’an noted.
The deputy atomic chief also said that Iran is due to conclude a deal with China next week to modify the design of its nearly finished IR-40 (MW) heavy water reactor, under construction at the Arak nuclear facility.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015 reached a conclusion over the text of the JCPOA, a comprehensive 159-page deal on Iran’s nuclear program.
“The countdown has begun for the implementation day and the removal of (anti-Iran) sanctions,” Foreign Ministry’s Director General for International and Political Affairs Hamid Baeedinejad had noted in a message shared on his Instagram page of the Iran nuclear deal a couple of days ago.