State TV says Iran has begun loading fuel into the core of its first nuclear power plant.

The English-language Press TV announced Tuesday morning the injection of fuel into the core of the reactor at Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran.

Iranian and Russian engineers started moving nuclear fuel into the main reactor building in August but a reported leak in a storage pool delayed injection of the fuel into the reactor.

Iran says the 1,000-megawatt nuclear plant, built with the help of Russia, will begin generating electricity in early 2011 after years of delays.