MNA � Iran�s nuclear chief Salehi said Sun. that first steps have been taken for the designing of an upgrade version of 20% enriched uranium fuel, which is more efficient than the fuel already used in Tehran nuclear reactor.

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi, hailed the country�s progress in the nuclear energy sector, adding �we have made so much progress in the field of nuclear knowledge and industry that instead of using reverse engineering, we can now design a new reactor fuel from scratch.�

He said Tehran nuclear reactor used to run on an older version of fuel, but the new design for the 20% fuel will increase the reactor�s efficiency.

Salehi added that the country is on the verge of designing the new, upgraded fuel that can be used in any reactor.

�Designing reactors has now become a very possible task for the Iranian experts,� he said.

The nuclear chief then noted the Iranian nuclear scientists� success at producing the raw material for the tracer FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose), which is used in PET scan, adding �the raw material for FDG is Oxygen-18, which we succeeded in producing in Arak reactor with 95% purity.�

He added once the hydrolysis stage is completed, Iran will no longer need to export Oxygen-18.

�Our production capability in this field has increased to the extent that we can export a part of our products to other countries,� Salehi maintained.