Iran, Russia discuss building new nuclear plants: Zarif

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says he has exchanged views with senior Russian officials over the construction of new nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Iran.

In a Thursday interview with Russian-language news channel Rossiya 24 during his visit to Moscow, Zarif said, “We discussed our nuclear cooperation, construction of NPPs, construction of reactors and peaceful atomic cooperation.”

In late December 2013, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi, said the Islamic Republic and Russia are in talks over the construction of new nuclear power plants in Iran.

In September 2014, Iran officially took over from Russia the first unit of its first 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in Bushehr for two years. The initial construction of the Bushehr facility began in 1975 by German companies, but the work was halted following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

After signing a deal on the construction of nuclear plants in 1992, Iran and Russia reached an agreement in 1995 to complete the power plant.

Elsewhere in his comments, the Iranian foreign minister hailed “longstanding” Iran-Russia relations, saying Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have agreed to further bolster economic cooperation between the two neighboring states.

“Russian-Iranian relations have been developing within the framework of international norms and rules” stressed Zarif, warning the third states against attempts to hinder bilateral ties between the two nations.

The Iranian top diplomat is in Moscow for talks with senior Russian officials over issues of bilateral and regional importance. The visit comes following his tour of the Middle Eastern countries including Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Syria.