Russia hands Iran draft deal to build small nuclear power plants

Russia has handed Iran a draft intergovernmental agreement to build small nuclear power plants, state-run Rosatom said, in a sign that talks between the two countries on expanding nuclear cooperation are continuing.

According to Mehr news agency, citing TASS, Rosatom chief executive Alexei Likhachev said the issue was raised in recent talks between Russia and Iran, and that Tehran had expressed interest in developing smaller-scale nuclear power generation. Rosatom also wants to take part in these projects, he said.

Likhachev also said Iran would expand its nuclear programme after returning to normal and peaceful conditions, and that Russia was ready to cooperate in that process. He did not provide further details on the timeline or the implementation framework for the draft.

The Rosatom chief added that the two countries had previously signed agreements on building large nuclear power units, and that talks are now continuing on establishing new sites and small power plants. The remarks were made on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok, which runs from September 1 to 4.