Technical Problem Reason for Halt to Russia Cooperation at Fordow: Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said Russia has stopped cooperating with the country at the Fordow nuclear site due to a technical problem.
Asked at a press conference on Monday about a recent decision by TVEL, a company that is part of Russia’s atomic agency Rosatom, to stop work at Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, Mousavi said Russia has not withdrawn cooperation with the Islamic Republic.
“We do not infer that Russia has withdrawn cooperation with Iran,” he said, adding, “We regard the technical problem as the reason for the halt.”
“Iranian and Russian technical experts are examining the problem,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman stated.
In a statement earlier this month, the TVEL said its work to convert Fordow to the production of radioactive isotopes for medical purposes has been suspended.
“The enrichment of uranium and the production of stable isotopes can’t be carried out in the same space, since trace amounts of uranium, incompatible with the use of the resulting isotopes for medical purposes, will inevitably appear in the air and on the equipment,” TVEL said in the statement on December 5.
In order for the project to resume, the hardware used for uranium enrichment has to be dismantled and the facility decontaminated, TVEL said, adding that it notified the Iranian side of the situation.