Russia Has Deal to Build Eight Nuclear Power Plants in Iran

Iranian state media said officials in that country have signed an agreement with Russia for construction of at least eight nuclear power plants in Iran. The IRNA news organization, citing the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, on June 9 reported that at least four of the new units would be build in Bushehr, site of Iran’s only currently operating nuclear power plant.

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad in April had said Russia would fund the construction of a new nuclear plant in Iran. Paknejad in a statement said the two countries would join on “the construction of new nuclear energy facilities and the completion of phases two and three of the Bushehr power plant using Moscow’s credit line.”

Iran’s parliament on May 21 ratified a 20-year strategic partnership with Russia. Reports said the deal would expand economic and military cooperation between the two countries.

The 1,000-MW Bushehr plant in early May completed a major maintenance project, along with a refueling. The Bushehr facility, located on the Persian Gulf, is being expanded with the two additional 1-GW reactors referenced by Paknejad. Reza Banazadeh, head of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, said the project is part of Iran’s plan “to increase nuclear power capacity to 20,000 MW by 2041.”

Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in a recent interview about nuclear power with the Financial Times said Iran is his “biggest preoccupation” when it comes to construction of new nuclear power stations. Grossi, in a June 9 interview with The Jerusalem Post, said he’s been told by Iranian officials that strikes by Israel on Iran’s nuclear assets would push Iran to create nuclear weapons.

Iranian officials have said the country needs nuclear power to bolster its energy supply, and also as a source of emissions-free electricity. The country’s nuclear program continues to draw international scrutiny amid concerns about its potential military applications. Officials in Tehran have maintained their nuclear ambitions are peaceful, and are being conducted under the oversight of the IAEA. Iran, though, has expelled some agency inspectors from the country, and has pushed back against the installation of equipment to monitor its nuclear program.

—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.