Salehi: Construction of the Second Bushehr Power Plant is Ahead of Schedule

Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, stated that the construction of the second unit of the Bushehr nuclear power plant is progressing "ahead of schedule" and expressed hope that this unit will be operational within the next six years. The construction plan for new units at the Bushehr plant is being carried out in collaboration with Rosatom, the contractor for the plant, which had previously confirmed in May 2016 that it would begin designing and constructing this unit after Iran approved the necessary parameters. In May of this year, it was announced that groundwork for the construction site had begun, and the concrete pouring for this unit is scheduled for the third quarter of 2019, which is next summer. At that time, it was announced that this power unit would be operational by 2024, and two years later, the electricity generated by the third unit of the Bushehr plant would come online. Now, Salehi states that the third unit will be operational two years after the second unit. The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization also praised Russia's cooperation in Iran's nuclear programs, stating that "the Russians are fulfilling their commitments well." He added that Iran has achieved the capability to "enrich other elements" with the help of the Russians, being able to enrich elements such as xenon and tellurium. Salehi expressed the opinion that U.S. sanctions have had "no impact" on Iran's nuclear activities, as "the majority" of Iran's projects are either self-reliant or being conducted with a country like Russia. However, in these remarks, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization inadvertently referenced one of the effects of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA on Iran's nuclear industry: the change in the working group for redesigning the Arak heavy water reactor. The redesign of the Arak reactor was one of the provisions of the nuclear agreement, and a working group was formed with the participation of China, the U.S., and Russia, and now, according to Salehi, the UK has replaced the U.S. in this project. Previously, the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization confirmed that this change occurred following the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA. Behrouz Kamalvandi stated on August 12 to the IRNA news agency that "under the JCPOA, China and the U.S. were responsible for the reconstruction of the Arak reactor, which was halted after the U.S. withdrawal." He added that after the U.S. left the JCPOA, the UK replaced the U.S., but "the choice of the UK was not ours." Donald Trump, the U.S. President, ordered the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in May after the end of his four-month deadline regarding the amendment of the nuclear agreement with Iran, thus initiating the process of reinstating sanctions against Iran. Since then, Trump has repeatedly emphasized that he is ready to negotiate with Iran to reach a better agreement. Trump considers the lack of attention to the Islamic Republic's missile program and Iran's "destabilizing behaviors" in the region as "catastrophic flaws" of the JCPOA and believes that a new agreement should focus on these aspects of Iran's behavior. Iranian officials have rejected Trump's proposal for dialogue.