Despite US objections to Russian support of Iran’s nuclear programme, Tehran and Moscow signed a landmark nuclear fuel agreement on Sunday, bringing the Islamic republic closer to becoming a nuclear power as it readies its first reactor to go online within the next year and a half.
The deal was signed in the US$800 million Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant, a heavily guarded complex overlooking the Gulf. Afterward, officials said Russia would be sending more experts and reactor equipment to help finish the facility and dismissed any worries — environmental or of weapons proliferation.
Iranian Vice-President Gholamreza Aghazadeh and Alexander Rumyantsev, the head of Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency, signed the agreement after touring Bushehr. "Today, a very important development occurred, and that was the protocol on returning nuclear fuel, which we signed together. In the next few weeks, many Russian technicians will arrive in Bushehr to speed up the assembly operation" to finish the plant, Rumyantsev said during a press conference with Aghazadeh.
Both officials refused to discuss the details of shipping the nuclear fuel to Iran and the spent fuel back to Russia, but insisted that the agreement respects all regulations concerning nuclear activities.
Shipment timing and costs, including who would pay for what were kept confidential. "Our cooperation conforms with international regulations. Iran observes all the regulations on the prohibition of the spread of nuclear weapons," Rumyantsev said.
Last-minute talks to settle differences on the timing of shipping nuclear fuel to Iran had delayed the signing by a day. Officials dismissed any suggestion a meeting of the American and Russian presidents on Thursday figured in to the delay.
US President George W Bush has urged Moscow to stop supporting Iranian nuclear ambitions, accusing Tehran of trying to build atomic bombs. Iran says its programme is solely for peaceful energy purposes.
After Thursday’s summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would continue upporting Iran’s nuclear programme, stressing that he was convinced it was for peaceful purposes.
Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said: "The Bush-Putin talks did not have an effect on the agreement. Our talks (with the Russians) have been successful."
Although Russia agreed to provide the fuel needed to run the Bushehr plant, it wanted the spent fuel back to prevent any possibility Tehran would extract plutonium from it, enough of which could be used to make an atomic bomb.
Experts have estimated the plant could produce enough plutonium for 30 rudimentary atomic bombs a year. Aghazadeh, the Iranian nuclear agency chief, said the two nations agreed that over the next 10 months, more experts and technicians would complete work on installation and assembly operations. "Three months after that, there will be a test of the power plant and within six months after that, the 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant will produce electricity," he added.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko told the Interfax news agency on Sunday that Russia would deliver the nuclear fuel when the Bushehr plant "is ready for work and loading."
Just ahead of the signing, Aghazadeh showed Alexander Rumyantsev, the head of Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency, the nuclear fuel storage house as well as the main part of the plant and the reactor.
"What I saw was much better and more than I had expected. Assembling operations in the past three to four months have been expedited," Rumyantsev said. Referring to the process to complete the plant, he added: "I can’t say the situation is excellent, but it’s very good. We are coming up with arrangements to make up for the delay in implementation of the Bushehr nuclear power plant by sending the reactor’s equipment."
Nasser Shariflou, chief of the Bushehr nuclear plant, said plant standards are high enough to ensure "there is absolutely no danger to the environment when the fuel is shipped to Bushehr".
"We have already taken all the necessary measures to store the fuel adequately," he added. The Bushehr plant, accessible only by a private road protected by security forces, overlooks the Gulf on one side, and is visible from several kilometers away, with its cream-colored dome dominating the green landscape.
Soldiers maintain a 24-hour watch on roads leading up to the plant, manning anti-aircraft guns and supported by numerous radar stations. There are several housing facilities for employees inside the complex plus a separate large compound housing the families of Russian experts and technicians.
Aghazadeh said the fuel storage house was constructed in accordance with international standards. "This storage house is ready to receive nuclear fuel," he said. Meanwhile, US Senator John McCain called for Russia to be excluded from a meeting in Scotland later this year of the Group of Eight (G-8) developed nations, following Sunday’s landmark nuclear fuel deal between Moscow and Tehran.
"The United States and our European allies I think should start out by saying, ‘Vladimir, you’re not welcome at the next G-8 conference’ — at least to start with. That has some symbology associated about it," McCain, one of the most influential lawmakers in the US Senate, told Fox television. |
