That does not mean
that, after the transfer, Russian specialists will leave the facility, said Ali
Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. The Russian
specialists will remain at the station throughout its “warranty period,” he
added.
Russian presidential
aide Yury Ushakov earlier said Bushehr would be handed over to Iran on
September 24, stressing that Russian nuclear collaboration with Tehran strictly
complied with “the UN Security Council’s sanctions related limitations on
Iran’s nuclear program.”
Construction of the
power plant began in the 1970s but has been plagued by delays. Russia signed a
billion-dollar deal with Tehran to complete the plant in 1998.
The plant's launch
in August 2010 prompted Israel and other nations to express fears that Iran
could use the reactor to create an atomic bomb. Tehran has denied the
allegations, saying the facility is for power generation only.
The plant was
connected to Iran's power grid in September 2011 and began operating at full
capacity on August 31, 2012, as the Unit 1 reactor was brought to 100 percent
capacity.
In July, Iran’s
president said preliminary talks for Russia to help build a new Iranian nuclear
power plant had been completed, and the project just needed Russian President
Vladimir Putin’s approval to go ahead.
In April, the former
Iranian manager of the Bushehr plant said Iran planned to build a new
360-megawatt nuclear plant in the country’s south. In February, Iran’s foreign
minister said Tehran expected to start joint work with Russia on a second power
unit at Bushehr.
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