Salehi: Iran Seeks to Utilize Small and Medium Nuclear Reactors

The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, stated that the Islamic Republic prefers to use 'small and medium' reactors instead of large ones and welcomes cooperation with China in the renovation of the Arak reactor. According to Mehr News Agency, Salehi made this statement on the sidelines of the 62nd General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna during a meeting with Zhang Kejian, head of the China Atomic Energy Authority. Salehi cited the 'climatic conditions' of the country as the reason for Iran's preference for small and medium reactors over large ones. His remarks come in the wake of unprecedented heat and drought, which have severely impacted agriculture, industry, and the climate in Iran, leading to criticisms of Iran's industrial development without considering climatic conditions. Furthermore, Salehi announced that the renovation of the heavy water research reactor at Khondab Arak is making 'appropriate progress' and welcomed China's 'effective cooperation' on this project. Last year in Ordibehesht, the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization and related Chinese companies signed a contract for the redesign of the Arak heavy water reactor at Iran's representation to international organizations in Vienna. The names of the Chinese companies that signed this contract were not mentioned by the news agencies. The redesign of the Arak facility is part of actions taken under the JCPOA, and according to Salehi, the final cooperation contract with China regarding the Arak facility is a 200-page document that includes numerous details and 'covers various dimensions of this cooperation.' In November 2015, the P5+1 members and Iran signed an official document regarding the redesign of the Arak heavy water facility, detailing the responsibilities of each party in this regard. According to this document, Iran owns this project, referred to as the 'Arak modernization project.' Based on the JCPOA, the redesign of the Arak heavy water reactor will be conducted in a way that prevents the facility from producing plutonium that could be used in nuclear weapons. According to the JCPOA text, 'all activities for the redesign and construction of fuel assemblies for the redesigned reactor, except for the first fuel loading, will be carried out in Iran,' and under this agreement, 'all spent fuel in Arak for the reactor's lifetime will be transferred out of Iran.' Reuters reported last year that the future of the Arak reactor was one of the most challenging issues in Iran's nuclear negotiations with world powers, which ultimately led to an agreement in the summer of 2015 with the governments of the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. The discussion of new nuclear reactors in Iran arises as Iranian officials are trying to encourage Europe to make greater efforts to counter U.S. sanctions following the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and as the date for the implementation of these sanctions against the Islamic Republic approaches next month. Among these efforts, Iran's Foreign Minister has threatened the European Union that if there is no balance between Iran's achievements and data from the Vienna nuclear agreement, the Islamic Republic will increase its uranium enrichment percentage while remaining in the JCPOA. Mohammad Javad Zarif, in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine this week, urged Europe to compensate for the impacts of U.S. sanctions and criticized the EU for not taking sufficient actions in this regard.