Iran Plans New Nuclear Power Plants in South With Russian Cooperation

Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said on the sidelines of the Atom Expo 2025 in Russia that the Bushehr nuclear plant has been operating for more than 12 years with Russian assistance and has consistently received the top safety rating from the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO).

He said Iran and Russia agreed to move forward on larger plants, including four units with a combined capacity of nearly 5,000 megawatts in southern Iran.

Talks also covered small modular reactors, and a memorandum of understanding was signed for further cooperation. A Russian team is expected to visit Iran for follow-up.

Kamalvandi described the trip as “very successful,” citing agreements on nuclear power plants as well as research in fusion and radio-pharmaceuticals. He said Iran displayed its achievements at the expo, including nuclear medicine, plasma technology, agriculture and industrial applications, and progress in nuclear measurement equipment.

He also criticized the politicization of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s monitoring role, urging the agency to act impartially.

He said the IAEA has both a “supportive” and a “monitoring” role, but in Iran’s case the emphasis has been placed on oversight, adding that IAEA monitoring has become “excessively politicized.”

He repeated Iran’s position that if the agency acted impartially and professionally, it would benefit not only Tehran but the wider international community.

Kamalvandi said Grossi’s attendance at the expo was significant, noting that a large share of the world’s nuclear plants use Russian technology and that Russia supplies about half of global nuclear fuel.

He concluded that countries in Asia and Africa, such as Myanmar and Ethiopia, are also seeking Russian nuclear technology, and said international pressure on Iran would not halt its nuclear progress.