TEHRAN: Iran said Saturday its first atomic power plant built by Russia in Bushehr has begun operations, ahead of a new round of talks with Western powers over the country's controversial nuclear drive. “Without any propaganda and fuss we sealed the cover of the reactor and all the fuel rods are in the core of the reactor,” atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying by Fars news agency, without specifying when. But Salehi said the authorities in the Islamic republic “hope that electricity produced at the Bushehr plant will be connected to the national grid in a month or two.” Iran says it needs the plant, which had been under construction since the 1970s in Bushehr before it was completed by Russia, to meet growing demand for electricity. – Agence France
