West worries Iranian power plant is conduit for Russian nuke technology

Assadollah Sabouri, deputy head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization said 700 Iranian scientists and technicians have been sent to Russia for nuclear training in courses that last up to 45 months.

Iran has acknowledged Moscow's massive help to its nuclear program, but officials admit to significant delays in repaying debts to the project's Russian contractors.

Sabouri said 26.4 percent of the Bushehr plant has been completed. He said the plant will be 38 percent complete by March 20, the end of the Iranian year.

Sabouri said the construction of Bushehr requires compliance with what he termed complex and strict international regulations as well as periodic inspections by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. The official said the completion of the plant has been made more difficult because the German contractor abandoned the project in the late 1970s after the Iranian revolution.

From that point, Sabouri said, Iran would examine the construction of additional nuclear plants while it launches the second phase of Bushehr. The second phase would take four years and the determination of a new nuclear plant site would take three years.

The Bushehr plant is meant to generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity and will contain a "pressurized water reactor," Sabuori said. He said the technology is more advanced than that of the Chernobyl plant.

Iran, Sabouri told reporters on Wednesday, did not have experience in building nuclear plants and U.S.-led sanctions against Iran made it more difficult to hire foreign consultants. In 1994, Russia took over the Bushehr project.

Germany began work on Bushehr in the early 1970s. By the time Russia had resumed the project, the international criteria for nuclear reactors were drastically upgraded. The result, Iranian officials said was that the German construction had to be reviewed by the IAEA to ensure that it met new safety standards.

Sabouri acknowledged difficulties with Russian companies and accusations by officials in Moscow of delays in Iranian repayment and Russian work. The Iranian official said Teheran was not paying hard currency for much of the estimated $1 billion contract. He said $132 million was being paid in Iranian exports. So far, $12 million in exports arrived in Russia.

He said the relationship between the Russian companies and the Iranian government remains unclear. He would not elaborate.

In October 1997, Sabouri said, the contract between Iran and Russia was amended. The new agreement stipulated the responsibilities of the two nations and called for Russia to increase its workforce at Bushehr and use Iranian employees as much as possible.

Sabouri said currently 12 Russian and eight Iranian firms are involved in the construction project. He said experts have conducted extensive research on the prospects of an earthquake in the area.

China is also involved in Iran's nuclear program. Sabouri said Beijing served as both a consultant and as a mediator in the purchase of parts for the power plant.

He said China slowly decreased its involvement, both dissatisfied with its role as well as being under pressure from the United States.