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http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/Iran_Starts_Second_Atomic/2008/02/08/71165.html
Iran Starts Second Atomic Power Plant: Report
Friday, February 8, 2008
Iran has started building a second atomic power plant in an oil-rich region
near the border with Iraq, Iran's Ambassador to Russia was quoted as saying
on Friday by Itar-Tass news agency.
Gholamreza Ansari said construction had started at Darkhovin in
south-western Khuzestan province. Iran has said it would construct a 360
megawatt plant at the site.
"Now we need to think about the fuel for it," Tass quoted him as saying at a
news briefing in Moscow. A spokesman for the Iranian embassy confirmed the
comment.
Iran has been building its first nuclear power plant near the southern city
of Bushehr, where Tehran says test operations could start later this year.
Final deliveries of nuclear fuel by Russia arrived at the plant last month.
Western countries suspect Iran's nuclear activities are aimed at
weapon-building. Iran, the world's fourth largest crude oil producer, says
it wants only to generate electricity so that it can export more oil and
gas.
Iran wants to build other power plants by 2020 as part of a planned network
with a capacity of 20,000 megawatt to satisfy soaring domestic electricity
demand.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has mentioned the Darkhovin project
in previous reports on Iran.
But Iran curbed access by the watchdog's inspectors to planned nuclear sites
last year, and stopped providing design data on them, in retaliation for
U.N. sanctions imposed on it.
A senior IAEA source declined to say whether those restrictions remained
with respect to Darkhovin or other sites. The matter will be addressed in
the next agency report on Iran due around February 20.
The ambassador to Moscow said Iran had been trying to ease Russian concerns
about its space program after the test launch of a rocket this month.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Ministry Alexander Losyukov said this week the
launch raised suspicions about the real nature of Iran's atomic program.
"We are explaining to our friends that we are not pursuing any military
goals as far as our space research is concerned," the ambassador was quoted
as saying.
Iran Starts Second Atomic Power Plant: Report
Friday, February 8, 2008
Iran has started building a second atomic power plant in an oil-rich region
near the border with Iraq, Iran's Ambassador to Russia was quoted as saying
on Friday by Itar-Tass news agency.
Gholamreza Ansari said construction had started at Darkhovin in
south-western Khuzestan province. Iran has said it would construct a 360
megawatt plant at the site.
"Now we need to think about the fuel for it," Tass quoted him as saying at a
news briefing in Moscow. A spokesman for the Iranian embassy confirmed the
comment.
Iran has been building its first nuclear power plant near the southern city
of Bushehr, where Tehran says test operations could start later this year.
Final deliveries of nuclear fuel by Russia arrived at the plant last month.
Western countries suspect Iran's nuclear activities are aimed at
weapon-building. Iran, the world's fourth largest crude oil producer, says
it wants only to generate electricity so that it can export more oil and
gas.
Iran wants to build other power plants by 2020 as part of a planned network
with a capacity of 20,000 megawatt to satisfy soaring domestic electricity
demand.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has mentioned the Darkhovin project
in previous reports on Iran.
But Iran curbed access by the watchdog's inspectors to planned nuclear sites
last year, and stopped providing design data on them, in retaliation for
U.N. sanctions imposed on it.
A senior IAEA source declined to say whether those restrictions remained
with respect to Darkhovin or other sites. The matter will be addressed in
the next agency report on Iran due around February 20.
The ambassador to Moscow said Iran had been trying to ease Russian concerns
about its space program after the test launch of a rocket this month.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Ministry Alexander Losyukov said this week the
launch raised suspicions about the real nature of Iran's atomic program.
"We are explaining to our friends that we are not pursuing any military
goals as far as our space research is concerned," the ambassador was quoted
as saying.
