Iran has made it clear that it will not give up its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purpose as long as Tehran continued to be a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Statute, the country's atomic energy chief said on Monday.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran will not back off from its enrichment rights on the basis of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Statute. Nevertheless, the issue pertaining to the level of (uranium) enrichment is open to negotiations," the state-run IRIB TV quoted Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), as saying.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony marking Iran's official takeover of the first unit of the Bushehr nuclear power plant from Russia, he said uranium enrichment is a "sovereign right, and Iran will not retreat from it."
Iran is reeling under several rounds of U.N. sanctions and unilateral embargoes by some Western countries following its disputed nuclear program which the West suspects is meant for making atomic weapons, a charge Tehran consistently denies.
Iran officially took over the first unit of its Bushehr nuclear power plant from Russia for two years at a ceremony attended by Iranian and Russian officials. The 1,000-megawatt plant was temporarily handed over to Iran after reading a message by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
The Bushehr nuclear plant became operational in September 2011, generating electricity at 40 percent of its installed capacity. The plant, which is operating under IAEA supervision, reached its maximum power generation capacity in August 2012, the IRIB report said.
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