Russia signs nuclear reactor deal with Iran

Russia said it signed a deal Tuesday to build two new nuclear-reactor units in Iran, possibly to be followed by six more, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The agreements were signed by nuclear officials from both countries in Moscow, Russian state nuclear giant Rosatom said in a statement.
Among them was a contract to build two more reactor units at the Russian-built Bushehr plant in Iran.
Another deal signed Tuesday envisions possibly building another two units at Bushehr sometime in the future, as well as four more at another location to be determined later, Rosatom said.
“This is a turning point in relations between Russia and Iran,” the Tass news agency quoted Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi as saying at the ceremony.
Rosatom Chief Executive Sergei Kiriyenko said, ”the building of eight reactor blocks in Iran is a big project expanding our cooperation for decades to come."
No schedule was given for any of the planned construction.
Rosatom said that all the plants would be operated as Bushehr currently is, under safeguards mandated by the International Atomic Energy Agency, with the nuclear fuel produced in Russia and shipped back there for reprocessing after use.
Moscow and western capitals have insisted on such a structure to eliminate suspicions any of the nuclear material could be diverted for a weapons program.
Russia’s construction of the first plant at Bushehr--Iran’s only operating nuclear power reactor--stretched over decades amid tensions over Iran’s suspected weapons ambitions.
When Moscow completed construction in 2011, officials said talks were underway with Tehran to deliver more reactors, though details weren’t announced.
Rosatom formally turned over operational control of the plant to Iran in 2013.