Iranian top diplomat Ali Akbar Salehi underlined Tehran's firm resolve to continue nuclear progress, and said Iran will never halt its uranium enrichment activities.

Regarding the nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr, Salehi said the facility would soon produce electricity in a trial mode and join the country's power grid.

He hailed the cooperation by Russian experts and their efforts to start the Bushehr power plant and expressed optimism on the future of Tehran-Moscow ties.

Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), insists that its nuclear program is solely directed at the civilian applications of the technology, FARS reported.

As Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said earlier, Iran expects its first nuclear power plant would be fully operational by the end of August.