April 9, 2013 | Quote

Iran Celebrates Nuke Pursuit

Russia has agreed to help Iran construct two new nuclear reactors in the coming year Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Tuesday, its “National Day of Nuclear Technology.”

Russia will help Iran build “at least two 1,000-[megawatt nuclear] reactors,” according to Iran’s Fars News Agency.

Each 1,000-megawatt reactor is capable of producing “enough plutonium each year for 40 nuclear bombs,” according to an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The deal was announced on the same day that a 6.3 magnitude earthquake killed some 30 people in southwest Iran, accordingto the BBC. The quake hit 60 miles south of Iran’s nuclear power plant in Bushehr.

Iran experts said a nuclear reactor in an area rife with seismic activity could spell catastrophe for the region.

“Russian nuclear technology wedded to an earthquake-prone region is a reason for concern even if Iran was not pursuing nuclear weapons,” said Emanuele Ottolenghi, an Iran expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Ahmadinejad announced the upcoming joint reactor project during a ceremony in Tehran.

The outgoing Iranian president “referred to Iran’s plans to further develop its nuclear industry and said the construction will start in the current Iranian year (which began on March 21) ‘with the cooperation of the foreign side,’” Fars reported.

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Issues:

Iran Iran Sanctions Russia