Iran ? Iran now controls the entire cycle for producing nuclear fuel, the Iranian president said Saturday, highlighting his country’s growing capabilities at a time when the U.S. wants to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear program.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s comments came two days after the inauguration of a facility which produces uranium oxide fuel pellets for a planned heavy-water reactor — the final step in the long, sophisticated nuclear fuel cycle.

“Today, with the grace of God, Iran is a country controlling the entire nuclear fuel cycle,” Ahmadinejad said on state television Saturday.

The step is significant toward furthering Iran’s nuclear energy capabilities and, an analyst said, could be designed to strengthen Iran’s position at a time when the Obama administration says it would negotiate with the Iran over it nuclear program.

However, it is less worrying for the West in terms of its potential to be used in nuclear weapons than Iran’s advanced enriched uranium program.