The end of the nuclear alliance? Russia suspends work at Iran's only power plant

The Russian state nuclear company Rosatom has suspended work at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southwestern Iran, said the head of Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, on Tuesday, quoted by Reuters.

Likhachev said that more than 600 people worked at the plant and that they are now leaving Iran. Nearly 100 employees were evacuated on Saturday when the US-Israeli attacks on the country began.

Last September, Russia and Iran signed a preliminary agreement on the construction of small nuclear power plants in Iran. Earlier, Vice President of Iran and head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, announced that eight new nuclear units are to be built in order to achieve a capacity of 20 GW from nuclear power plants by 2040.

Four new blocks are to be built in Bushehr. The nuclear power plant in this city is currently the only nuclear power plant in Iran. It was built in the 1990s by Russia, which supplies fuel and collects it once it is used. The power plant has a capacity of 1,000 megawatts. (PAP)

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