Iran started building four more nuclear power facilities in the south of the nation on Thursday, according to a report from the official IRNA news agency.
These units would have a combined capacity of 5,000 megawatts. By 2041, Iran wants to generate 20,000 megawatts of nuclear energy. With assistance from Russia, a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power station became operational in 2011 and is now the only nuclear power plant in the nation. Additionally, a 300-megawatt plant is being constructed in the oil-rich region of Khuzestan, close to the western border with Iraq.
However last year, the UN’s nuclear watchdog reported that Iran was creating nearly weapons-grade uranium at a faster rate. According to an IAEA official, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated in the report that Iran “had increased its production of highly enriched uranium in recent weeks, reversing a previous output reduction from mid-2023.”
Iran has already reduced its pace of uranium enrichment to 60% purity, which is only a little technical distance from the 90% level needed for bombs. Iran’s atomic energy Chief Mohammad Eslami dismissed the IAEA warnings in December, stating that they were doing the same activities according to rules. Iran had previously slowed its uranium enrichment rate to 60% purity, just a short technical step away from the weapons-grade level of 90%.
Iran’s four new nuclear power plants
About 1,150 kilometers (715 miles) south of Tehran, the capital, are the factories being developed near the port town of Sirik on the east coast, according to IRNA, news agency of Iran.
The project manager, Nasser Shariflou, informed that the project will generate 4,000 employment and cost around $20 billion. According to Mr. Shariflou, each plant is anticipated to require 35 tons of nuclear fuel annually. The completion of the facilities might take up to nine years, according to Iran’s Atomic Agency Chief, Mohammad Eslami, as reported by Irna.
However, Washington expressed concern over reports of Iran-backed proxies continuing dangerous and destabilizing activities in the region.
Iran’s bid to expand Nuclear Power Projections amid fragile economy
Iran’s nuclear program has faced significant scrutiny and international sanctions for decades, causing political power struggles and a lack of foothold.
The country currently operates one reactor, Bushehr 1, a 1,000-MW Russian-built unit. Construction on two additional units is underway, as part of an agreement with Russia’s Rosatom, marking a significant step forward in Iran’s nuclear program.
Besides, Iran’s economy has been severely impacted by international sanctions, including U.S. sanctions that have reduced oil exports by half. The country is planning to build two more reactors on the Makran coast and seven more, including two more units at Bushehr. Despite global concerns about Iran’s nuclear plans, nuclear experts argue that the Bushehr plant is not a risk as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitors the site to ensure spent fuel is returned to Russia. Iran has reopened a uranium enrichment plant, indicating a desire to increase uranium enrichment capacity if a nuclear deal with world powers falls apart. In June 2018, Iran informed the IAEA of plans to open a center at Natanz to produce new centrifuges for uranium enrichment.
Iran-Russia: A lethal nuclear arrangement
Iran’s project manager, Mahmoud Jafari, has announced that Russian and Iranian firms are working on two additional reactors at the country’s nuclear power complex at Bushehr. The facility has been a source of contention with Iran’s Gulf Arab neighbors, despite a deal limiting its nuclear ambitions signed with major powers last year. The construction of the two 1,000MW reactors, jointly carried out with an Iranian firm, is expected to take a decade and cost up to $10bn. 
Additionally, Iran plans to reduce its reliance on oil and gas with 20 nuclear facilities, including nine built with Russian firms. Russia built the existing 1,000-megawatt reactor at Bushehr in 2011, reaching full capacity in 2014. In 2014, Russia signed a “cooperation contract” to help build two new reactors at Bushehr, with plans to construct nine more across Iran. The deal with six major powers, including Russia, restricts Iran’s nuclear reactor development and fuel production. The project, led by Russia’s Rosatom with Iran’s Nuclear Power Production and Development Company, is expected to save 11 million barrels of oil per year and avoid seven million tones of greenhouse gas emissions. The project is expected to involve an estimated 8,000 workers and strengthen Russia’s position in the international peaceful nuclear technology market.
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