Iran eyes Russia and China for nuclear investment, ties

Iran is seeking to expand cooperation with Russia and China on nuclear energy issues, according to a report. The Iranian spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Behrouz Kamalvandi, in an interview with Iran’s Tasnim News that was published on Friday, said Iran is seeking to “mobilize our facilities so that we can also use foreign resources and technologies. Countries like Russia and China are our main targets and we have had negotiations with them. We have the necessary legal infrastructure and we will act according to the protocols we have already agreed with them.”

His discussion about Russia and Iran regarding nuclear energy comes at a sensitive time because Iran’s nuclear program has not been in the spotlight in the last six months, in part due to the war in Gaza. However, Iran is seeking to continue to expand its various nuclear programs.

“We have agreements with Russia for the construction of several nuclear power plants, one power plant – Bushehr – has been delivered and two power plants are under construction. Of course, we are going to build the Karun power plant in Darkhovin completely locally, relying on industry, technology, and the power of local experts,” he said. That plant is supposed to be located in Khuzestan province around 70 km. south of Ahvaz on the Karun River.

Long history of cooperation between the two countries

Russia-Iranian cooperation on nuclear issues goes back many years. In 2015, Iran claimed that Russia would “begin building two nuclear power reactors in Iran next week, under a deal signed last year between subsidiaries of the countries’ atomic energy agencies,” VOA reported. In 2017, Kamalvandi discussed talks with Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom’s director-general, Alexey Likhachov, regarding the construction of units 2 and 3 at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.

At the time reports also said they discussed the “opening of the Caspian Sea route for the transport of nuclear materials and interaction under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).” These discussions continued through 2022 but it appears that not much progress was made.

There is a kind of “waiting for Godot” aspect to stories about Russia and Iran’s cooperation on these nuclear issues because Iran keeps making the same claim over the last decade, while Russia has other priorities. That’s probably acceptable to Tehran because it too has been investing in many other things, and both Russia and Iran have long-term goals and interests. Of particular interest in the Tasnim article was the reference to China, since Iran has been running into the arms of Beijing in recent years.

“Iran is a powerful country and has been able to stand on its own feet throughout history and thousands of years and is now advancing its goals. Although we are facing problems in this way, the opposite parties also know that they cannot impose their demands on us. It is important that we are determined to achieve our goals, and in my opinion, our colleagues are determined to create this space for the nuclear industry abroad,” the IAEO spokesperson said. He discussed developments in mining in Iran and cooperation with the mining industry. Overall, he said that with government support “we will witness the development of the capacity of the nuclear industry, especially the construction of nuclear power plants in the country.”