TEHRAN - The spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Behrouz Kamalvandi, has stressed that the Islamic Republic now has full mastery of nuclear fuel cycle.

Iran has achieved enormous gains in the nuclear industry, including the manufacturing of stable zirconium, Kamalvandi wrote on the website of the AEOI on Sunday. 

“In the field of fuel and the fuel cycle, after gaining full command of the fuel cycle, which includes everything from exploring uranium and thorium… to turning raw material into concentrate and yellow cake, [and] enrichment, fuel production, and managing fuel waste, we have been able to produce stable zirconium,” he wrote, elaborating on Iran's nuclear accomplishments.

He stated that stable zirconium may also be utilized for manufacturing airplanes and automobiles, indicating that an extensive range of businesses in Iran might benefit from the expertise generated by the nuclear industry.

“This level of concentration on peaceful nuclear technology, which can save hundreds of million dollars in foreign revenues for Iran, comes as Western countries” have used all their energy to create a phobia on “increased enrichment in Iran and the false impression that Iran seeks to produce nuclear weapons, and have attempted to deprive us of such a vast range of technology,” Kamalvandi pointed out. 

“Let’s not forget that building nuclear plants is not a fancy move, but is a necessity for the country,” he said, adding that after several years of focus on renewable energies, European countries realized that nuclear energy was unavoidable.

“The construction of nuclear power plants [in Iran] is not a fantasy, but a very critical necessity in the country," the AEOI spokesman said, adding a plan is under study to build a 360-megawatt nuclear power plant in Darkhovin, Khuzestan province, in line with the stated aim to produce 10,000 megawatts of nuclear electricity. 

The plant is going to be built by Iranian experts.

Kamalvandi praised Iran's achievements in nuclear technology, noting that they are organized into four categories: radiation, energy, fuel generation, and research and development.

As examples of achievements in this field, he cited the use of sodium iodide I-131 in radioactive iodide for cancer treatment, the use of radiation for sterilization, seed modification, and dehydration, and the use of gamma ray to process bee venom for medical applications, as well as the development of heavy water-related products and detergents.

AEOI chairman Mohammad Eslami revealed a few days ago that the Iranian nuclear organization plans to develop a completely indigenous power station in Khuzestan province in southwest Iran.