Iran in talks to sell more heavy water: AEOI spokesman

Iran is in talks to sell more heavy water after sales to the United States, Russia, and other countries, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi has said.

The official, quoted by Fars news agency on Monday, also said the country was to unveil its achievements in the area of heavy water technology on April 9, the National Atomic Energy Day.

The achievements, Kamalvandi said, partly relate to how the country seeks to use heavy water as the raw material for producing other products.

Heavy water is a chemical used as a moderator in a type of nuclear reactor that can produce plutonium.

Iran, which had been the subject of intense sanctions over its nuclear energy program, has found new markets for its heavy water following a deal that it struck with six world countries in 2015.

Under the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed to limit certain aspects of its nuclear program in return for removal of the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council, the US, and the European Union.

Separately, Kamalvandi said the AEOI was seeking to expand the electricity production capacity of the country’s nuclear program beyond 1000 megawatts.

He also pointed to the prospect of constructing one or two small reactors in Tehran’s Kan district.

The Islamic Republic already runs one Russian-built nuclear reactor at Bushehr, which is the country’s first nuclear energy project.

Russia signed a deal with Iran in 2014 to build up to eight more reactors in the country.

Iran expects to see a new nuclear power plant which it is building in cooperation with Russia to be launched before 2025, Kamalvandi said last August.