TEHRAN, September 27. /TASS/. Iran has sold 70 tonnes of heavy water, a material used in nuclear reactors, to Russia and the United States and is in talks with other countries, Iranian Vice-President and Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi told IRNA news agency on Tuesday.

Iran’s top nuclear official confirmed the statement by Russia’s civilian nuclear power corporation Rosatom CEO Sergey Kiriyenko that Iran had delivered 38 tonnes of heavy water to Russia, adding that the delivery had been completed 7-8 days ago.

"Overall, we have sold 70 tonnes of heavy water to Russia and the United States. We consider it a significant achievement as only eight months have passed since the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program began to be implemented. Other countries, in particular, from Europe, are also displaying interest in Iranian heavy water. The negotiations with them are continuing," Salehi said.

"Our relations with Russia are of strategic nature. Especially this refers to cooperation in nuclear energy. Russian specialists were building the first unit of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in extremely complex conditions. Now it has been transferred to Iran. Recently, a ceremony was held to lay the foundation for the second stage of the Bushehr nuclear power plant," Iran’s top nuclear official said.

Salehi characterized as quite positive the talks held on Monday with Rosatom Head Kiriyenko during a session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA) in Vienna.

"We discussed the issues of financing and other organizational issues related to the construction of the Bushehr-2 nuclear power plant. Special attention was paid to the compliance with the schedule of work fulfillment at this facility," the Iranian vice-president said.

According to Salehi, cooperation with Russia in civilian nuclear power engineering is not limited to the construction of the NPP.

"As part of implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [to settle the Iranian nuclear problem whose realization began on January 16 this year], we are cooperating in the sphere of stable isotope production. By now, significant progress has been achieved in the implementation of this project. We also discussed this topic in detail with Sergei Kiriyenko," Salehi said.