Iran lays foundation stone for fourth nuclear research reactor Iran lays foundation stone for fourth nuclear research reactor

Iran says it has started construction of a fourth nuclear research reactor in the country.

On Monday, the concrete foundation for a reactor with a capacity of 10 megawatts was poured in the city of Isfahan, nuclear chief Mohammed Eslami explained, according to state news agency Irna. In addition to Isfahan, other research reactors in Iran are located in the industrial city of Arak and near the capital Tehran.

Just a few days ago, Eslami reported on the construction of four nuclear power plants in the south of the country. The Persian Gulf facilities in Hormosgan province are expected to generate a total of 5,000 megawatts of electricity upon completion. Iran currently has only one nuclear power plant in the port city of Bushehr, which was once built with the help of German companies. Iran’s nuclear program has been criticized internationally. The West accuses Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic denies this and claims it uses the nuclear program only for civilian purposes.

In a 2015 nuclear deal, Tehran committed to drastically limiting uranium enrichment and allowing strict IAEA controls. This was intended to prevent the construction of nuclear weapons. In return, many sanctions against Iran were lifted. Since the US under then-President Donald Trump withdrew from the pact in 2018, Tehran has gradually broken its obligations and, among other things, continued the production of highly enriched uranium. (sda/dpa)