Iran Closing In On Entry To Nuclear Club
Monday, August 28, 2000 (12:00 am)
Iran Closing In On Entry To Nuclear Club
According to Iran's state-run radio, the country is receiving help from Russia to complete its nuclear power plant at Bushehr, which is expected to be operational within two years.
The Iranian Atomic Energy Organization said Thursday it will install equipment at the Bushehr plant this year with the help of Russian experts, and expects the plant to be up-and-running by February 2003. The state radio quoted an Iranian official, identified only by his surname Sabouri, as saying Iran would be able to recycle nuclear waste at the plant through the development of a new technology. The plant stands on the Persian Gulf coast about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Tehran.
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is scheduled to go to Moscow on Monday, where he is expected to sign several trade and defense contracts. Russia has been helping Iran to complete the Bushehr plant, which was started by the German company Siemens in the 1970s. In 1985, Russia and Iran signed an initial $850 million agreement to complete the plant's 1,000 MW reactor by 2003, but the work did not begin until February 1998. In November 1998, Russia and Iran announced they were studying the possibility of building three more nuclear reactors at Bushehr.
Iran has little need for nuclear power, since its domestic energy requirements are more than amply met by surplus production from its own natural oil reserves. The US and Israel have warned that civilian nuclear projects could help Iran develop the ability to produce nuclear weapons. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed such warnings and insisted the Bushehr project allows the Russian nuclear industry to earn much-needed hard currency.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it has not detected any suspicious nuclear activities in Iran. It has given Iran $1.6 million from its technical assistance fund to complete the Bushehr plant.
Used with Permission from International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.
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