Iran signs $25b deal with Russia to build nuke power plants

Agency :

Iran has signed a $25 billion agreement with Russia’s state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom to construct four nuclear power plants in the country, according to the Iranian news agency IRNA.
State television reported that the deal was signed between Iran’s Hormoz Company and Rosatom to build the plants in the Sirik region of Hormozgan Province. The third-generation plants will be constructed on a 500-hectare site, with a combined capacity of 5,000 megawatts of electricity. The agreement was signed in Moscow.

Earlier, Rosatom had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran for the construction of smaller nuclear plants, though the exact number of plants was not specified at that time.

The deal comes amid renewed international tensions. The 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and European partners is being revisited, and sanctions on Tehran are expected to take effect by Saturday. Last month, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany announced plans to reimpose sanctions, citing Iran’s alleged failure to comply with the agreement.

Iran occasionally faces electricity shortages due to rising demand. Currently, the southern city of Bushehr operates only a single nuclear power plant, also constructed by Russia, with a capacity of around 1 gigawatt.

Russia has maintained close ties with Iran and strongly condemned U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June. Israel has alleged, without presenting evidence, that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, a claim Iran denies.