Iran and Russia sign $25bn nuclear plant deal

According to Iranian state media, Tehran and Moscow have reached a $25 billion contract to construct four nuclear power plants in southern Iran.

The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to vote on Friday on a resolution that China and Russia support and calls for at least six months delay in imposing international sanctions on Iran under the so-called “snapback mechanism” over its nuclear program.

The deal, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency, includes the construction of four brand-new homes on a 500-hectare (1, 235-acre) lot in the Hormozgan Province, which is located across the Gulf from the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

5GW of electricity would be produced by Generation III power reactors, according to IRNA.

No number was provided when Rosatom, the country’s state nuclear agency, announced on Wednesday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran regarding the construction of small nuclear power plants in Moscow.

In Bushehr, in the southern city of Iran, one nuclear power plant is currently operational, despite experiencing power shortages at times of high demand. It has a capacity of 1 GW, which was also constructed by Russia.

Iran and Russia have close ties. In June, Moscow categorically condemned US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

Iran was on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons, Israel claimed at the time, without providing any proof. Tehran has long been suspected of using its nuclear energy facilities as a cover by Western nations.

Iran insists that this is not the intention. Tehran will “never attempt to build a nuclear bomb,” according to President Masoud Pezeshkian, who reiterated this week’s statement at the UN General Assembly.

Russia has also criticized the UN’s decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran and supported diplomacy to keep the 2015 nuclear deal in place.