Iran produces 'raw uranium', Nuclear program self-sufficient: Top Official

Iran has delivered the first consignment of locally produced raw uranium, making its nuclear program self-sufficient, the country's top nuclear boss said.

The announcement came just a day before the Islamic republic is to resume the stalled nuclear talks with Germany and the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council namely, the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom. The talks are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday in Geneva. The yellow cake produced was shipped to a nuclear conversion facility in the central province of Isfahan for enrichment. Raw Uranium was being imported by Iran so far.

Ali Akbar Salehi, the Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), on Sunday, stated that Iran has achieved self-sufficiency in the entire nuclear fuel cycle.

The first consignment of yellow cake was shipped from Gachin mine in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, to Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) under the surveillance of the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA), Salehi told the state's Press TV on Sunday.

The AEOI head maintained that the country would speed up exploration, extraction, and conversion of uranium ore to yellow cake in the near future.

Today, we are witnessing a very remarkable achievement. The ill-wishers and those who have a grudge against Iran have always made efforts to strike fear and despair into the younger Iranian generation, the academics, engineers and the Iranian nation, he stated.

The West had been critical about Iran's nuclear program with several other Arab countries also expressing sever concerns. While Tehran maintains that enriched uranium will be used as fuel in nuclear reactors for civilian purposes, the United States and its allies believe that Iran intends to develop nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Salehi also blamed the West and Israel for the last week's terror attacks on two Iranian nuclear scientists in Tehran.

Assassination of Iranian scientists will not hamper our progress, he said.