Iran and Russia Discuss Advancing Nuclear Cooperation

On October 9, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization and a senior official from Russia's Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation held discussions on enhancing cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.

Mohammad Eslami met with Nikolai Spassky, Rosatom’s visiting deputy director general for international affairs, in Tehran on Wednesday, The Caspian Post reports citing Iranian media.

Spassky had travelled to the Iranian capital at the head of a delegation following a visit by Eslami to Moscow on September 24, during which the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in construction of small nuclear power plants, aka small modular reactors (SMRs), in Iran.

The Wednesday meeting saw the officials discuss expanding bilateral nuclear cooperation, including via projects focusing on construction of the SMRs.

It also addressed another MoU signed during Eslami’s visit that has covered collaboration on the Iran-Hormoz Nuclear Power Plant Project, which includes construction of four 1,250-megawatt power reactors.

Two days following Eslami’s trip, Iranian and Russian officials signed a $25-billion deal for the construction of the four-strong reactors.

The deal was inked as part of the nations’ Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that was signed in January and features a 20-year roadmap for their bilateral relations.

Over the past days, State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, has approved the treaty, lending it binding force.

Reporting on the Wednesday meeting, the AEOI described the talks between the officials as “extensive,” saying the discussions also covered other areas of collaboration.

“Both sides reviewed the progress of ongoing nuclear cooperation and emphasized the need to accelerate the implementation of joint projects,” it reported.

It was also agreed that Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom’s director-general, will pay an official visit to Iran in the near future to follow up on agreed issues and personally observe the construction progress of Units 2 and 3 of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which has been built with Russian cooperation in southern Iran.