Russia has signed a contract with Iran to build eight nuclear power plants, with four to be built in Bushehr, a district in the southern part of the nation, according to an announcement by the head of the Atomic Energy Organization.
Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesman for the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, commented that the Iranian people wish to support the nuclear industry, as it secures the country's future, according to The Iran Press.
Members of the commission visited the nuclear reactor in Tehran on Monday, as well as the radiopharmaceutical production complex operated by the Atomic Energy Organization.
Iran's atomic energy chief, Mohammad Eslami, confirmed the expansion during the tour, reports Israeli National News.
The announcement was also reported by the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, and signals a major expansion of the country's civilian nuclear energy program.
Eslami, the President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), also confirmed that four of the eight anticipated reactors will be placed in Bushehr, where the nation's only operational nuclear power facility is located.
He further updated the lawmakers on the continuing construction of units 2 and 3 at the existing Bushehr plant, stating that the units are being built by Iranian companies.
The Bushehr plant went online at the port city in 2011 with the help of Russia, along with several underground nuclear operations. Iran and Russia started a new phase of construction for a second reactor at Bushehr in 2019.
Meanwhile, Iran began construction of a new nuclear power plant in the nation's southwest in 2022. At that time, it was reported that the 300-megawatt Karoon plant would take eight years to complete, at the cost of $2 billion.
Iran began construction last year on four more nuclear power plants in the country's south, which are to have an expected total capacity of 5,000 megawatts.
The news of the new Russian-financed plants comes as Western nations are pushing this week for a measure from the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors to censure Iran over noncompliance with inspectors.
If no deal is made with Washington, Iran could face "snapback," or the reimposition of United Nations sanctions that were lifted in the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, negotiated under then-President Barack Obama.
The deal allowed Iran to enrich uranium to 3.67%, which is enough to fuel nuclear power plants but below the threshold of 90% for weapons-grade uranium.
President Donald Trump, during his first term in 2018, unilaterally withdrew America from the accord. Iran now reportedly enriches uranium up to 60% and has a stockpile that would allow it to build multiple nuclear bombs, even though it insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
Information from The Associated Press was used to compile this report.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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