Iran to start work on 20 pct nuclear fuel-president

TEHRAN Feb 7 (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday instructed Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation to start work on producing nuclear fuel for a Tehran research reactor, casting doubt on the prospects for a swap deal with the West.

"I asked Dr Salehi to start work on the production of 20 percent fuel using centrifuges," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech, referring to Ali Akbar Salehi, who heads the atomic energy body. (Reporting by Reza Derakhshi; writing by Fredrik Dahl; editing by Angus MacSwan)