Iran: Stuxnet not to blame for new Bushehr delay

[ErnstBlofeld]

World Tribube:

Iran, acknowledging a computer virus attack, has announced another delay in the launch of its first nuclear energy reactor

The Iranian Atomic Energy Organization said the startup of its 1,000 megawatt nuclear reactor at Bushehr would not take place until 2011. This marked at least an additional two-month delay from a previous agency announcement in late September.
In the latest statement on Sept. 30, Salehi cited delays in the fueling of Bushehr. He said the nuclear fuel rods supplied by Rusia would be fully installed in November 2010.

Two or three months later, the electricity generated by the plant will be connected to the grid," IAEO director Ali Akbar Salehi said.
Salehi did not elaborate. Over the last month, Iranian officials first said the startup of Bushehr would take place on Sept. 2, and then later cited the end of the month.

Officials have acknowledged that Bushehr was struck by the computer worm Stuxnet. They said 30,000 computers, including those in Bushehr, were affected by the virus, first reported in Europe.

"Studies show that few personal computers of Bushehr nuclear power plant workers are infected with the virus," Bushehr project manager Mahmoud Jafari said on Sept. 26.

But Jafari told Iran's official news agency, Irna, that Stuxnet has not damaged Bushehr. He said the plant was operating as planned.