MOSCOW - The Russian government voiced its right Friday to build a second nuclear power plant in Iran and engage in long-term nuclear cooperation with Tehran despite fierce US criticism of an existing project.
The announcement of a new 10-year Iranian nuclear development program surprised analysts and some politicians, coming less than a month after the West agreed a confidence-building 20-billion-dollar aid package for dismantling Russia's weapons of mass destruction.
Some noted that Iran may have no intention of buying a second nuclear plant from Russia and read the announcement as a bid by Moscow to up the stakes and win new Western concessions for ending its nuclear relations with a nation identified as a member of an "axis of evil" by Washington.
Moscow's program states that Russia intends to build all four reactors at the southern Bushehr plant -- only one has been completed so far -- along with two more 1,000 megawatt blocks in Ahvaz, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Iraqi border.
A copy of the document obtained by AFP states that Russia wants to "develop a long-term program of cooperation in the sphere of peaceful use of atomic energy" with Iran.
Nuclear analysts said the idea of Russia building a second Iranian plant has floated around since the original Bushehr contract was signed in 1995 but that the plans had recently been all but buried.
"I'm not sure if the 1995 agreement was ever published, but it was an open secret that it said that Russia wanted to build a second plant. The problem is, people forgot it because Russia is barely able to complete Bushehr," said Ivan Safranchuk of Russia's Center for Defense Information.
"Iran does not want a second plant, it wants a mechanism for enriching uranium fuel to weapons-grade," he said. "But if a new contract is ever signed, one can only imagine the heat that will come from the United States."
Some analysts interpreted the announcement as a move in a delicate game of brinkmanship rather than serious declaration of intent.
"Russia seems to be ignoring the will of Washington," said independent military analyst Alexander Golts.
"It's curious, because one of the conditions (for the 20-billion-dollar aid project agreed by the G8 last month) was that Russia abandon cooperation with Iran," he said.
"So either Russia does not want the money, or it is bargaining for more Western concessions for ending its Iranian program," said Golts.
Both the United States and Israel fear that Russian-Iranian nuclear cooperation could enable Tehran to acquire the technology needed to build nuclear weapons.
During a summit in Moscow in May, US President George W. Bush raised Washington's concerns about Russian nuclear aid to Iran, expressing fears that Tehran's "radical clerics" could put the technology to ill use.
While mentioning Bushehr, Bush said he was also concerned that Russian research institutes were supplying Tehran with blueprints for the development of sophisticated long-range missiles that could deliver a devastating nuclear attack.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in May dismissed the charges, arguing that he had evidence that Iran was using Western technology to develop its missile program.
Meanwhile, senior Russia politicians were quick to try and defuse potential tensions over the announcement.
"Neither Russia nor the United States is interested in other countries' use of peaceful nuclear technologies for military purposes," said State Duma lower house of parliament foreign affairs committee chairman Dmitry Rogozin.
|
If you have come to this page from an outside location click here to get back to mindfully.org |