Iran claimed Sunday it could now use domestically mined uranium to produce nuclear fuel, giving the country complete control over a process the West suspects is geared toward producing weapons.

Tehran made the claim a day before a new round of nuclear talks with world powers that want to rein in Iran's uranium enrichment — a process that can be used either to make fuel for nuclear energy or nuclear weapons.

The nuclear chief said Iran had for the first time delivered domestically mined raw uranium to a processing facility — allowing it to bypass U.N. sanctions prohibiting import of the material. Four rounds of U.N. sanctions have targeted Iran's uranium enrichment program.

Salehi, who is also the country's vice president, said the step meant Iran was now self-sufficient over the entire nuclear fuel cycle — from extracting uranium ore to enriching it and producing nuclear fuel.

"No matter how much effort they put into their sanctions ... our nuclear activities will proceed and they will witness greater achievements in the future," he said in an interview with state-run Press TV after the announcement.

Iran's nuclear chief said a bigger uranium mine at Saghand, in central Iran, will be inaugurated "in the not too distant future."