Maragheh, East Azarbaijan Prov, Dec 14, IRNA - Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) Deputy Mohammad Qannadi said on Sunday that Iran is the 7th country in production of Uranium Hexafluoride (UF6).

Talking to IRNA, he added that there is a factory to produce UF6 in Iran.

UF6 gas plays a significant role in production cycle of nuclear fuel which is used in Iran's peaceful nuclear program and is also used in enrichment and production of nuclear reactors, he said.

The Islamic Republic of Iran stands at the first place with regards to nuclear fuel cycle, Qannadi added.

He reiterated that the nuclear energy is the healthiest and cheapest energy in the world. Production of such an energy neither leads to creation of any dangerous gas nor pollutants in the atmosphere, he said.

Currently 17 percent of the world energy is produced through 420 nuclear power plants, most of which are placed in the US and Europe, while 30 more atomic power plants are under construction there, Qannadi said.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the Majlis and government approvals, is obliged to produce 10 percent of its energy needs that is 20,000 Megawatts from nuclear power plants in the future, he said.

"Production of 5,000 Megawatts of energy in the next five years is on the agenda of the IAEO."

Underlining the significance of producing nuclear energy, he said, nuclear energy is particularly at the service of medicine, agriculture and industries and the IAEO has planned to produce isotopes for medical application.

... Payvand News - 12/14/08 ... --