Abbasi: Islamic Iran to produce new yellow cake

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Fereydoun Abbasi says Tehran will start producing new yellow cake next year.

Abbasi said Wednesday that new generation centrifuges have been installed and activated at Natanz nuclear facility.

He made the announcement at the ceremony held to place indigenous fuel rods into the heart of the Tehran research reactor.

Iran also added 3,000 new generation centrifuges to its uranium enrichment program, bringing the number of its active centrifuges to 9,000.

In December 2010, the first consignment of indigenous yellow cake was transferred to Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) from Gachin mines under the surveillance of the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA).

Iran maintains that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, it has every right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.