The BRICS TimesRussia and Iran have agreed to construct small nuclear power plants in Iran. Tehran aims to achieve 20 gigawatts of nuclear energy by 2040. Currently, only the Bushehr reactor is operational. Israel and the U.S. had attacked Iranian nuclear facilities in June. Iran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
Russia and Iran have finalized an agreement to establish small nuclear power plants within Iran. The deal was signed in Moscow on Wednesday by Alexey Likhachev, head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, and Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami. Rosatom described this project as strategically important.
Mohammad Eslami, who also serves as Iran’s Vice President, revealed that Tehran plans to generate 20 gigawatts of nuclear energy by 2040. As part of this plan, eight new nuclear plants will be built, four of which will be located in the southern province of Bushehr. These new plants will help Iran manage electricity shortages during high-demand summer months.
Currently, Iran operates only one nuclear reactor, situated in the southern city of Bushehr. Russia constructed this reactor, which has a capacity of one gigawatt. Relations between Russia and Iran remain strong, with Russia condemning attacks on Iranian nuclear sites by the U.S. and Israel. On June 13, Israel conducted airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and military bases.
These attacks reportedly killed over 1,000 people, including top Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes, which resulted in dozens of Israeli casualties. The United States also bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. Despite these tensions, Iran maintains that its nuclear program is completely peaceful.
On September 11, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi admitted that the high-grade uranium stockpile had been buried under debris following the attacks by Israel and the U.S. He made this statement amid concerns raised by the UN nuclear watchdog, which highlighted that it had no information regarding Iran’s enriched uranium inventory since the June strikes.
