Russia will “further assist” Iran in implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear programme, “including the processing of enriched uranium and the conversion of facilities to produce stable isotopes”, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Azerbaijani State News Agency AZERTAC in an interview on 5 August.
"In certain areas, Russian-Iranian cooperation has already become strategic in nature. This is particularly true of the joint work in the field of peaceful nuclear energy. Iran’s first NPP, Bushehr was built on the basis of Russian technologies. Plans for the construction of eight more nuclear power units by Russian specialists in Iran have been agreed," he said.
"Thus, through collective efforts we have managed to increase the volume of mutual trade. In the first five months of this year, it grew by 70%, reaching $855m," Putin said.
In July 2015 Iran and the P5+1 group of countries (USA, China, France, Russia and the UK plus Germany) signed a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which guaranteed the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme. Iran agreed to admit the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) inspectors to locations the agency seeks to verify the absence of nuclear material and activities in exchange for lifting sanctions that had been damaging its economy for years.
Rosatom Deputy General Director and head of its international operations unit Nikolai Spassky met on 2 August with the head of the Atomic energy Organisation of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi to discuss the implementation of joint, including the construction of new reactors at the Bushehr NPP. Unit 1 at Bushehr was connected to Iran's national grid in September 2011 and earlier this year the organisation responsible for production and the development of Iran's Atomic Energy (NPPD) received a licence for its operation. Rosatom continues to provide service and maintenance and to provide its nuclear fuel. Preparations are now under way to begin construction of two more units at the plant.
Meanwhile, specialists from Bushehr, headed by the chief engineer M Shirazi completed a two-week internship at Russia’s Kalinin NPP, organised by JSC Rusatom Service. The Iranian nuclear scientists were made familiar with Russian experience and with the organizational structure and operation of the Kalinin plant, as well as with the organization of maintenance and repair (MRO). A new group of Iranian scientists will arrive on 14 August for a similar course.