Iran's nuclear chief in Moscow to sign power plants deal as UN ponders sanctions

The head of Iran's atomic energy organization, Mohammad Eslami, has arrived in Moscow for talks, Iranian state-run media said on Monday, as the U.N. considers whether to re-impose sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program.

On Friday, the 15-member U.N. Security Council rejected a draft resolution to permanently lift sanctions on Tehran, a move backed by Russia and China, and who oppose efforts by Britain, France and Germany to re-impose U.N. sanctions.

The European nations accuse Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers that aimed to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies having any such intention and Russia says it supports Tehran's right to peaceful nuclear energy.

Eslami, who is also Iran's vice president, told Iranian state media that bilateral cooperation agreements would be signed during his visit to Russia, including a plan to construct eight nuclear power plants as Tehran seeks to reach 20 GW of nuclear energy capacity by 2040.

“Contract negotiations have taken place and with the signing of the agreement this week, we will enter the operational steps,” Eslami said.


Reuters