ALWAGHT- According to Iran’s nuclear chief, the agenda includes the construction of eight nuclear power plants in the southern provinces of Bushehr and Hormozgan as part of a long-term cooperation agreement with Russia.
Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI), announced that under a long-standing Iran-Russia agreement dating back to the 1980s, eight large-scale nuclear power plants will be constructed in southern Iran. Four plants, each with a 5,000-megawatt capacity, are planned for Bushehr Province, while a second cluster of four units will be built in Hormozgan Province. A memorandum of understanding has been signed to accelerate the project, and an initial contract for small modular reactors (SMRs) is also in the works, with the main contract expected soon.
Eslami emphasized that the implementation of these projects coincides with a stricter framework for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections. Following a June 25 parliamentary law, Iran has suspended broader cooperation with the IAEA, requiring that the agency condemn attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and formally guarantee the protection of nuclear information. According to Eslami, these conditions have not yet been met, limiting inspections to only two pre-approved visits at the Bushehr facility and Tehran research reactor.
The AEOI chief framed the move as a response to recent attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites, describing them as violations of international law and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). He stressed that the presence of IAEA inspectors in Iran is strictly governed by the new parliamentary legislation, asserting that inspections will continue only under this legal framework until the IAEA meets Iran’s conditions.
