Iran's Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant
If finalized, the renewed nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers lets Russia cash in on a $10-billion contract to build atomic reactors in Iran.
Washington Free Beacon reported on Wednesday that Russia’s top state-controlled energy company Rosatom has a contract with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran for development projects at Bushehr nuclear plant in southern Iran.
The report said it obtained the information through the translation of some Russian and Iranian documents.
Negotiations in Vienna after 11 months hit a bump in the road on March 5 when Russia asked that sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine should not impact implementation of a revived 2015 nuclear deal, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).
Moscow said on Tuesday it received US assurances that the Biden administration will waive the sanctions, noting that “Additions were made to the text of the future agreement on JCPOA restoration to ensure that all the JCPOA-related projects, especially with Russian participation, as well as Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, are protected from negative impact of anti-Russian restrictions by US and EU”.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price confirmed on Tuesday, "We, of course, would not sanction Russian participation in nuclear projects that are part of resuming full implementation of the JCPOA”.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Wednesday that two of the outstanding matters in talks have been settled, “but two issues remain, including economic guarantees”.