Islamic Republic Seeks to Expand Nuclear Cooperation with Russia

The CEO of Rosatom stated that the Islamic Republic intends to enhance its collaboration with the company in the construction of both small and large nuclear power plants. Alexey Likhachev, following Massoud Pezeshkian's visit to Moscow and the signing of a 'comprehensive strategic agreement' between Iran and Russia, said: 'Today, our Iranian allies are seeking to expand cooperation in the field of small nuclear power plants as well as to establish a new site for large nuclear power plants.' He added that 'negotiations for the construction of a new large power plant in Iran will begin soon' and emphasized that 'cooperation in the field of small nuclear power plants requires the establishment of agreements at the government level, and for the new site plan for large plants, serious and extensive negotiations are needed, which will start soon.' The CEO of Rosatom also claimed that the first unit of the Bushehr power plant has produced over 70 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, a performance that has been confirmed by the Iranian side. He stressed that despite sanctions and international pressures, the construction of the second and third units of the Bushehr plant continues. The claim of producing over 70 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from the first unit of the Bushehr plant comes at a time when experts say a significant portion of the country's investments, under the pretext of 'electricity production' and 'completing the Bushehr plant,' has been diverted towards developing the Islamic Republic's military nuclear programs and has not yielded adequate returns for meeting the country's electricity needs. Ata Hosseinian, an energy journalist, stated on July 13, 2024, to Voice of America: 'The Bushehr nuclear power plant, which has cost billions of dollars to build and has faced many sanctions, only has a capacity to produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity, while the average electricity consumption of the country is about 70,000 megawatts.' He added: 'The Bushehr nuclear power plant, which took over two decades to complete, only provides one percent of the country's electricity.' The construction of the Bushehr plant in southern Iran began in 1975 by a German consortium but was halted in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution. In 1992, Iran and Russia signed an agreement to continue the construction of this plant. In September 2011, the first unit of the plant was connected to the power grid and was delivered to the Islamic Republic of Iran in September 2013. In November 2014, the Islamic Republic also signed another contract for the construction of the second phase of the plant, including the second and third units, which are expected to be operational in 2025 and 2027, respectively.