TEHRAN:
Russia will begin building two nuclear reactors in
Iran next week, a top Iranian atomic energy official has said.
The news comes a year after Tehran signed a contract with Moscow to construct further two reactors at the existing Russian-built
Bushehr power plant in southern
Iran.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of
Iran, said work on the two reactors "will commence next week", according to the state television website.
A series of agreements signed between the two countries last year foresees eventually increasing the total number of Russian-built reactors in
Iran to nine.
Construction of the two reactors will be bankrolled by
Iran, Sergei Kiriyenko, head of
Russia's state nuclear company Rosatom, said last year.
The start of the work follows a landmark deal between
Iran and world powers in July that ends a decade-long standoff over Tehran's nuclear programme.
The accord does not limit
Iran's development of civilian nuclear sites.(Al Jazeera)