Russia Says Prospects Broad for Cooperation with Iran on Large and Small Nuclear Power Plants

Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Russia's Rosatom, recently stated that the company sees significant room for cooperation with Iran in nuclear power construction, covering both large gigawatt-scale nuclear power units and small nuclear power plants.

Likhachev said that Rosatom and Iran "have broad prospects" in expanding the construction of large nuclear power units and advancing small plant projects.

Currently, Rosatom is already involved in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant project. Unit 1 of the Bushehr plant was put into operation in 2013. The second phase of the plant, which began in 2016, covers Units 2 and 3 with a total installed capacity of 2,100 megawatts.

Likhachev previously stated that the overall situation at the Bushehr site is stable, with no concerning incidents reported at the plant itself, the surrounding area, or residential zones for personnel in recent months.

Regarding project staffing, Likhachev said on August 9 that the company had launched a large-scale operation to return Russian specialists to the Bushehr plant. He noted at the time that the next batch of dozens of employees was planned for dispatch in September; if progress went smoothly, the number of personnel at the site could increase to 100 by autumn of this year.

As of August 31, more than 40 Russian employees had returned to the Bushehr plant, with a second batch of experts preparing for subsequent maintenance work.