Tehran [Iran], November 3 (ANI): Iran will construct eight new nuclear power plants with Russia’s assistance as part of efforts to boost clean and sustainable energy production, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has announced.
At the same time, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reaffirmed his country’s stance on maintaining a “peaceful nuclear program” and reiterated that Iran has “no intention to develop weapons.”
According to the Iranian news outlet Tasnim, AEOI chief Mohammad Eslami said on Sunday that a new agreement had been finalized between Iran and Russia for the joint construction of four nuclear power plants in Bushehr and four others along Iran’s northern and southern coastlines, with the specific locations to be disclosed later by the government.
Eslami stated that the new facilities will help ensure a stable and clean nuclear energy supply and raise Iran’s total nuclear electricity generation capacity to 20,000 megawatts.
Russian state media TASS also quoted the AEOI press office as confirming that construction of a nuclear plant had begun in Golestan province in northern Iran, while efforts are underway to complete an unfinished nuclear power plant in Khuzestan province, a project that dates back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
During his visit to the AEOI headquarters on Sunday, President Pezeshkian stressed that nuclear science should serve humanity rather than destruction.
“Building a bomb is only a tiny, disproportionate, and inhumane part of this field, while the rest serves essential human needs,” Pezeshkian said, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
He further asserted that Western nations seek to deny independent countries, including Iran, access to advanced technology, aiming instead to confine them to lower tiers of industrial development.
Pezeshkian also condemned hostile acts and assassinations targeting Iranian scientists, saying they stem from global powers’ fear of Iran’s growing scientific and technological independence, IRNA reported.
In June 2025, Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, including sites at Natanz and Fordow, sparking a 12-day conflict focused on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. The United States also joined the strikes targeting enrichment facilities.
More recently, US President Donald Trump warned that he would order fresh attacks if Iran restarts its nuclear facilities. In a separate interview with CBS News, Trump justified his decision to resume US nuclear weapons testing after more than three decades, claiming that countries like Russia, China, North Korea, and Pakistan are already conducting such tests.
“We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times,” Trump said, adding that he had discussed denuclearisation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Iran, meanwhile, continues to assert that its nuclear initiatives are strictly for civilian and energy purposes, positioning its collaboration with Russia as part of a long-term vision for technological and energy independence. (ANI)
About The Author
