MOSCOW Ñ Russia has approved a plan to construct at least another
three nuclear reactors for Iran.
The Russian government announced Friday that Moscow approved a plan that
would allow for the construction of three Iranian reactors in addition to
the one being built at Bushehr. The announcement violated Russian assurances
that Bushehr would be the first and only Iranian reactor that would be
completed by Moscow.
The plan was approved by Prime Minister
Mikhail Kasyanov. The agreement said Russia would build two Iranian reactors
in Ahwaz, about 90 kilometers from the Iraqi border, Middle East Newsline reported.
"Russia's assistance to Iran in the nuclear and missile areas is
dual-purpose and can therefore be used for both civil and military
purposes," Vladimir Orlov, head of the Moscow-based PIR Strategic Center,
said.
Russia has stressed that the
nuclear reactors built in Iran would be for peaceful purposes.
Moscow has been under pressure to halt construction of the Bushehr
reactor. The United States has expressed concern that the 1,000-megawatt
facility could be used for the development of nuclear weapons.
Moscow said it has reeived assurances from Iran that the nuclear
fuel from the Bushehr reactor will be returned to Russia. But Russian
officials acknowledged that Iran has refused Moscow's request for a more
intrusive inspection regime by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"Neither Russia nor the United States is interested in other countries'
use of peaceful nuclear technologies for military purposes," Dmitri Rogozin,
chairman of parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Interfax news
agency.
Russian critics said Iran will obtain a uranium-enrichment facility that is not
required for a nuclear power plant.
Earlier, Russian Atomic Energy Minister Aleksandr Rumyantsev said that
in August Moscow and Teheran plan to sign an agreement for the return of
spent nuclear fuel to Russia