TEHRAN - Ali Akbar Salehi, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) director, confirmed on Tuesday that Iran shipped about 11 tons of enriched uranium to Russia on Monday.

“About 197 tons of yellow cake was imported to the country and about 11 tons of our enriched uranium was exported in this exchange,” Salehi said in a radio interview.

Iran acted within the framework of the guidelines set by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei according to which Iran first received the yellow cake and then shipped the enriched uranium, he noted.

Salehi also expressed hope that the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, would be implemented soon and the sanctions would be lifted.

The shipment of the nuclear fuel and receiving yellow cake is part of the July 14 nuclear accord between Iran and the 5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany).

The United States hailed the move, which Secretary of State John Kerry said marked “significant progress” in Tehran’s fulfillment of a deal, AFP reported on Tuesday.

Kerry promised that the United States would repeal its nuclear-related sanctions once Implementation Day arrives.

Kerry also thanked Kazakhstan for its help in supplying Iran with the non-enriched uranium it received in exchange for surrendering its stockpile, and Norway, which helped manage and fund the operation to conduct the transfer.

-----‘JCPOA to be implemented in a month’

Behrouz Kamalvandi, the AEOI spokesman, said on Tuesday that the JCPOA will be implemented in a month.

“By this process (exchange of nuclear fuel and yellow cake), we have practically joined the club of exporters of the nuclear materials,” he said in a televised interview.


Kamalvandi said that three main steps should be taken in the process of implementing the JCPOA.

The first one is reducing the number of centrifuges which is in its last stage, the second is exchanging enriched materials, which was done on Monday, and the third is redesigning the Arak nuclear reactor the preparations of which have been made, he explained.

NA/PA