Iran has begun uranium loading fuel rods into the core of its Bushehr nuclear plant, one month, late due to problems, such as the Stuxnet virus that reported damaged key computers. Iran has denied that the plant was affected by the virus, which many accuse as having been generated by Israel.
Earlier this month, Iran atomic energy director said the plan will begin generating electricity January 1. Israel, the United States and other Western leaders figure that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is proceeding with plans to advance the production of a nuclear warhead, to be aimed at Israel.
Iran’s deputy atomic director Mohammed Ahmadian said that the delay was due to “minor problems, including a “small leak in a pool in the middle of the reactor." He explained it took one month to fix the problems before the fuel could be loaded.
Iran has rejected United Nations efforts to inspect its nuclear facilities under construction, and Russia, which helped build the reactor, has been a major stumbling block in U.S. President Barack Obama’s efforts to place tougher international sanctions on the country.
Iranian legislator Alaeddin Boroujerdi boasted that the loading of the nuclear fuel marks a victory for the Islamic Republic. "Once Germany, Britain and France were opposed to providing Iranian researchers with research centrifuges, but today [we] have over seven or eight thousands centrifuges," he told the semi-official Iranian IRNA news agency. "If they (the Western countries) do not build a nuclear power plant for Iran, the Iranian nation will build it on its own."