Iran has started constructing four additional nuclear power plants in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan with expected total capacity of 5,000 megawatts, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Iran seeks to produce 20,000 megawatts of nuclear energy by 2041.
“Today, the process of pouring concrete for the foundation of the reactor started at the Isfahan site,” Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, was quoted as saying by state-backed news agency IRNA.
The power plants are being constructed in the port town of Sirik, situated approximately 1,150 kilometers south of the capital, Tehran.
Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said construction is estimated to span around nine years. Once functional, the plants are anticipated to generate a combined capacity of 5,000 megawatts, Eslami added.
“By the year 2041, we should reach the generation capacity of 20,000 megawatts of nuclear electricity in the country, and the realization of this goal has been taken into consideration in the Makran coast of Hormozgan Province,” Eslami said. “It is hoped that it will be completed as planned and coordinated, and based on scheduled timing.”
Nasser Shariflou, who will oversee the project, mentioned to IRNA that the endeavor will require an investment of $20 billion and will provide employment opportunities for 4,000 individuals. Each plant is projected to consume 35 tons of nuclear fuel annually.
Currently, the country operates one active nuclear power plant, which commenced operations in collaboration with Russia in 2011. Additionally, Iran is in the process of constructing a 300-megawatt plant in the Khuzestan province near its western border with Iraq.
In a recent interview with Al-Monitor, Rafael Grossi, the director general of the UN’s nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), expressed concerns about Iran’s capability to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels.
Iran “in recent weeks had increased its production of highly enriched uranium, reversing a previous output reduction from mid-2023,” Grossi said, according to an IAEA spokesperson.
Iran had previously slowed the rate at which it was enriching uranium to 60% purity, which is just a short technical step away from the weapons-grade level of 90%.
Despite Western qualms regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the country maintains that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
Moreover, Iran’s Ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, accused representatives of France, Germany, and the UK — known as the E3 — of disseminating misleading and false information regarding Iran’s commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal. Iravani emphasized that Iran’s nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes, as reported by IRNA.