In the latest step to seek Russia's sincerity and firmness on the Tehran-Moscow nuke deals, Zamani Nia, the Iranian Foreign Ministry's general director for international policy issues, traveled to Russia on Tuesday for discussion of nuclear non-proliferation issues, the Interfax news agency reported.

His visit came following Moscow's announcement last month that it planned to expand its nuclear cooperation with Tehran beyond existing projects, despite Washington's lumping of Iran as part of an "axis of evil."

Meanwhile, commenting on the environmental group Greenpeace's concern about nuclear wastes, Russia's Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev said on Wednesday Moscow had signed all agreements necessary for it to import radioactive fuel waste from an Iranian nuclear power plant that Russia is constructing in Bushehr.

The 800-million-US dollar station, a project initiated by the German firm Siemens and abandoned after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, is expected to come into operation in early 2004.

Once the Bushehr plant goes on line, it is expected to generate more than 30,000 megawatts of electricity, which accounts for 3 percent of Iran's total electricity production.

The station, however, has remained a sticking point in otherwisewarm US-Russian ties, ushered in by Russian President Vladimir Putin's steadfast support for the war in Afghanistan and other global action against terror following the Sept. 11 events.

The potential Iranian-Russian nuclear cooperation was listed as a top US concern of territorial security, and even more so after Russia approved in July a program of long-term cooperation with Iran to build several nuclear reactors.

The United States says Iran's real purpose in expanding its civil nuclear capabilities is not to procure energy but to acquire the expertise and equipment for nuclear weapons, particularly sinceIran's vast natural energy reserves vitiated the need for nuclear power stations.

Besides urging Moscow to cease all cooperation in nuclear programs with Tehran, the United States has even declared its intention to preempt threats to its national security, which the United States and Israeli intelligence suggest may be jeopardized by the Bushehr plant.

Israel views the Bushehr facility as a threat to its security, as Iran does not recognize Israel as a state, though Israeli experts rule out a military strike anytime soon.

Iran and Russia have shrugged off such protests, saying the nuclear plant would only serve civilian purposes and remain under international control.

Facing such accusations, a senior Iranian energy official said the United States and Israel oppose Iran's effort to obtain nuclearenergy for peaceful purpose.

Hossein Afarideh, chairman of the Iranian Majlis (parliament) Energy Commission, told the Tehran Times that Iran's arch foes are "basically trying to distract world opinion from the fact that the Islamic Republic is a peace-loving country and would have the world believe that it is a threat to peace."

The official stressed that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is keeping a close watch on the Bushehr facilities byscheduling some 70 inspection missions in the current year to checkactivities in the plant.

To Tehran's dismay, Russia made an apparent concession to the United States in early August by announcing that "political factors" would determine if it goes through with plans to vastly expand its nuclear cooperation with Tehran.

While still pinning hopes on Russia's firm stance on the cooperation, the Tehran Times opined that the expansion of cooperation between the two countries would safeguard mutual interests, and the promotion of bilateral ties will make a significant contribution to boosting the Russian credibility from the foreign-policy point of view.

The English-language daily said the enhanced Russian credibilityin the international arena would help Russia shed the image of a country "heeding US interventionist remarks to the detriment of itsnational interests."

Responding to possible foreign attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani has said "our forces will retaliate firmly and with all the means at our disposalto any aggression."

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2002)