Iran says Russian Federation to begin building two nuclear plant units next week

Iran and Russian Federation in recent years have boosted their cooperation in various defense fields including the supply of military equipment.

Russia’s energy giant Gazprom says Iran’s new format of oil sector contracts have provided a new vision of the country’s energy investment prospects.

Work on the first two facilities “will commence next week”, state television’s website quoted atomic energy agency spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying.

Iran now operates a Russian-built nuclear plant in Bushehr. The accord does not limit Iran’s development of civilian nuclear sites.

The construction comes after Tehran and world powers in July reached a landmark deal that lifts sanctions against Iran in exchange for curbing the country’s nuclear program.

On behalf of the Russian party the JCC co-chairmen are Vitaly Markelov and Alexander Medvedev, deputy chairmen of the Gazprom Management Committee, and the Iranian party is represented by Hamid Reza Araqi, deputy petroleum minister of Iran, managing director of NIGC and Azizollah Ramezani, director of global affairs at NIGC.

A series of agreements signed between the two countries past year foresees eventually increasing the total number of Russian-built reactors in Iran to nine.

Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said earlier in the week that Russia could give Iran a state export credit in the amount of $5 billion.

Russian Federation hopes to increase imports of fruit and vegetables from Iran.

Russian Federation is “not afraid” of Western economic delegations trying to dominate Iranian markets after the lifting of sanctions, a Rostec official said Tuesday.

“We have already received the yellowcake thought the other side is required to implement certain measures”, he said, in reference to Iran’s exchange of enriched material for yellowcake uranium.