Iran and Russia will sign an agreement this week for the construction of eight nuclear power plants, Iranian atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami said on Monday during a visit to Moscow.
If finalized, the move would represent a strong signal of Russian support for the Islamic Republic's nuclear program amid growing military and diplomatic pressure.
Eslami, who is also a vice president in Iran, told state media that four of the reactors would be located at the Bushehr site in southern Iran, where the country’s only operating nuclear power plant is situated.
“The necessary negotiations and studies for the implementation of the second phase of this agreement have been completed, the land for the plants has been selected, prepared and equipped, and with the agreement that will be signed this week we will enter the operational stage,” Eslami said.
He added that site visits had already taken place and contractual talks concluded.
Eslami, who traveled to Moscow to meet officials and speak at Russia’s Nuclear Energy Week, said the project is part of Tehran’s long-term plan to expand nuclear capacity to 20 gigawatts by 2040.
Iran currently generates about 1 GW from its single Bushehr reactor, which was also built by Russia, and has faced recurring electricity shortages during peak demand.
Eslami's remarks comes as Britain, France and Germany (E3) push to reinstate UN sanctions, accusing Iran of violating a 2015 nuclear deal.
The 15-member UN Security Council on Friday rejected a draft resolution to permanently lift sanctions on Tehran. Russia, China and two others voted to do so.
Asked about the outlook for cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Eslami said: “We have always emphasized that these three European countries and the Zionist influence network should no longer damage the credibility of the United Nations and international organizations, and should allow these organizations to perform their duties fairly and professionally within the framework of regulations.”
Seventy-one members of parliament signed a letter to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the heads of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, demanding a “review of the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine,” according to the daily Hamshahri Online.
In their letter, the lawmakers wrote, “We respectfully request that, since the decisions of that council acquire validity with the endorsement of the Leader of the Revolution, this matter be raised without delay and the expert findings communicated to the parliament.”
The lawmakers argued that while the use of nuclear weapons would contradict a 2010 religious edict by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei prohibiting them, developing and maintaining such weapons “as a deterrent is another matter,” the outlet said.
“In Shia jurisprudence, a change in circumstances and conditions can alter the ruling. Moreover, safeguarding Islam -- which today is bound to the preservation of the Islamic Republic -- is among the paramount obligations. On this basis, the original prohibition can, as a secondary ruling, be transformed into a permissibility.”
The initiative was led by Hassan-Ali Akhlaghi Amiri, a lawmaker from the holy city of Mashhad, Hamshahri reported.
Iran has long insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and cites Khamenei’s fatwa against nuclear weapons as proof of its intentions. The United States and its European allies accuse Tehran of seeking the capability to produce nuclear arms, a charge Iran denies.
The calls from lawmakers come as Iran faces the prospect of renewed United Nations sanctions under a “snapback” mechanism set to take effect on September 28, after European powers accused Tehran of failing to honor the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran is not known to have made any decision to pursue nuclear weapons, and the government has not commented on the lawmakers’ letter.