Russia has signed a $25 billion agreement to construct four new nuclear power plants in Iran, Iranian state media reported on Friday.
The deal was reached between Iran’s state-owned Hormozgan Company and Russia’s state-owned Rosatom in the Sirik area of Hormozgan Province. Each plant is expected to generate 1,255 megawatts of electricity, although no specific completion timeline has been announced yet.
Currently, Iran operates only one nuclear power plant in Bushehr in the southern region, with a generation capacity of 1,000 megawatts, which is considered insufficient to meet the country’s growing energy demand.
The agreement comes amid the possibility of renewed UN sanctions prompted by European countries. The United Kingdom, France, and Germany have accused Iran of violating the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal. On Friday, China and Russia proposed a six-month extension for further discussions at the UN Security Council, although the proposal is considered unlikely to be approved.
Western nations have consistently claimed that Iran is secretly attempting to develop nuclear weapons. However, Tehran insists that its nuclear program is strictly for peaceful purposes, primarily for civilian electricity production.
Notably, Iran and Russia first began nuclear cooperation in 1993, which led to the establishment of the Bushehr nuclear plant. Initially a German-led project, construction was halted following Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, and Russia subsequently completed the project.