Iran proposes joint nuclear plants with Gulf states
IRAN: Iran on Sunday proposed developing nuclear power plants jointly
with neighbouring Arab states in the Gulf, amid international pressure
on Tehran to halt its sensitive atomic work.
"I suggest that countries in the region put on their agenda the
creation of a consortium to build and develop light-water nuclear
plants," said Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's atomic energy
organisation.
"Iran is ready to present a comprehensive proposal if the Persian
Gulf countries agree to it in principal," he told an energy conference
in Tehran.
However, he did not give any specifics about the proposal, or its
feasibility.
Iran has long defied UN demands to halt uranium enrichment and it is
under sanctions targetting individuals and institutions involved in its
nuclear programme. The light-water reactor market is dominated by
Western countries and Russia, which is currently building Iran's first
nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr on the Gulf.
However, completion of the plant has been repeatedly delayed.
Officials say Iran's first home-built nuclear plant using domestic
technology is at the basic design stage and is scheduled to come on line
in around nine years.
The Islamic republic is also building a 40-megawatt heavy water
research reactor in Arak, in central Iran.
Uranium enrichment lies at the centre of fears about Iran's nuclear
programme as the process can be used to make the fissile core of an atom
bomb.
Iran, OPEC's second largest oil exporter, insists it only wants to
enrich uranium to make nuclear fuel to meet the growing energy demands
of its population.
Tehran has not responded to a proposal by world powers offering Iran
incentives including help with peaceful nuclear technology and a light
water reactor in return for suspending enrichment.
Tehran, Monday, AFP
|