“In the nuclear science and industry, we have made so much progress that we can design modern fuel ourselves instead of reverse engineering and using others’ designs, which is a great achievement for the country,” Salehi told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
“Tehran’s nuclear reactor has been working with old fuel but the modern fuel would boost the reactor's efficiency,” he noted.
“Taking initial measures to design the modern fuel (enriched to) 20% has begun,” the Iranian nuclear chief stated.
Iran in recent years has made great headways in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment in the area of peaceful nuclear technology.
In December 2017, an exhibition of the country’s nuclear achievements was staged in the central city of Najafabad in Isfahan province.
The nuclear achievements showcased in the exhibition covered various areas such as nuclear enrichment, heavy water production, nuclear power plants, Arak research reactor, nuclear agriculture, nuclear medicine and health, sanitation, nuclear fuel and nuclear safety.