November 14-2014
Russia signed a contract with Iran Tuesday to build two more nuclear power reactors, with an option to possibly build another six.
The contract drew extra attention because it was signed less than two weeks ahead of the November 24 deadline for Iran and the Big Six to complete talks on a nuclear agreement. However, the power plant contract is unrelated to the issues in the talks. It likely, however, reflects a desire by Moscow to firm up relations with Tehran ahead of a possible softening of Western sanctions against Iran.
It also clearly reflects recognition by Tehran that no one but Russia will be willing to build a nuclear reactor in Iran even if it reaches a deal with the Big Six. Many Iranian officials have complained about being stuck dealing with Russia and paying the price Russia demands because it cannot do business elsewhere.
Pointedly, the announcement didn’t say how much Iran would pay for the two reactors.
The two reactors are both to be built near Iran’s first Russia-built nuclear plant in Bushehr.
Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Russia’s Rosatom state corporation, and Iran’s nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, also signed a protocol envisaging possible construction of two more reactors in Bushehr and another four in undetermined locations.
“It’s a turning point in the development of relations between our countries,” Salehi said after the signing, according to Russian news reports.
Rosatom said in a statement that the construction of the new reactors would be monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency. As in the case of Bushehr’s first reactor that became operational in 2013, Russia will supply uranium fuel and then take it back for reprocessing — a provision intended to prevent Iran from using the spent fuel to build atomic weapons.
It was that agreement covering fuel for Bushehr that led the George W. Bush Administration to end its opposition to the Bushehr plant.
However, if Russia keeps supplying fuel for Iranian power plants, it is hard for Iran justify having a uranium enrichment program. It is possible the contract signals that Iran is prepared to ship all its enriched uranium to Russia, which would then convert that uranium into fuel rods for the new plants. That is something the United States reportedly proposed in recent weeks in order to prevent Iran from building up large stocks of enriched uranium that could be converted for use in weapons.
The announcement, however, also said the two countries would “look into the economic expediency and feasibility of fabricating fuel rod components in Iran.” That would not necessarily be a deal-breaker for Washington if the fuel rods were made quickly and a stockpile of enriched uranium did not build up in Iran.
Iran’s has announced that its long-term goal is to generate 20,000 megawatts of electricity from enriched uranium, meaning it would need about 20 plants the size of Bushehr.
The 1995 contract under which Russia built the Bushehr plant called for completion by 1999. The plant was not finished until 2013, however. Tuesday’s announcement did not give a schedule for completing the two additional power plants.
