Iran and Russia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to build nuclear Small Modular Reactors (SMR) capable of generating maximum electrical power of 300 Megawatts electric (MWe) to be installed at the planned Iran Hormuz nuclear power plant site with a 5,000 MWe capacity.
President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami and Director General of the Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexey Likhachev signed the MoU in Moscow during World Atomic Week at ATOMEXPO.
“These reactors will play an important role in the development of nuclear technical knowledge and technology and industries related to the manufacturing of power plant equipment and devices in the country,” the AEOI Public Relations Office said in a news release.
“In addition, the achievement of Small Modular Reactors technology can provide new capacity to supply power to large industries and create balance in the country's electricity grid,” read the press release available on the AEOI website.
Eslami said that contracts on constructing the small-size reactors will be signed accordingly to launch the major Iran Hormuz nuclear power plant site in the southern Hormuzgan Province along the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea.
“5,000 MW of nuclear power will be generated at the Iran Hormuzugan site,” he added.
Bushehr's first 1000-Megawatt nuclear power plant
Iran’s Persian Gulf province of Bushehr is hosting its first ever 1000-Megawatt nuclear power plant which was built and connected to the national grid in 2012 based on an agreement with Rosatom.
The Russian company took over the project after the German Siemens company withdrew from its 1974 contract with Iran following the Islamic Revolution which ousted the pro-west shah monarchy in 1979.
Sanctions
In the meantime, Tehran and the European powers are at loggerheads at the United Nations Security Council over a possible return of the nuclear sanctions if they fail to reach an agreement by 28 September.
The European troika of France, Germany and the UK have laid down the three conditions of resumption of nuclear talks with the U.S., return of the inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and access to the stockpiled enriched uranium in return for a limited suspension of the sanctions.
Iran cut off the mediated nuclear negotiations with the United States and suspended the ties with the UN nuclear watchdog after its major civilian nuclear sites were bombed by Israel and U.S. last June.
In Tehran, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on National Security and Foreign Policy Ebrahmi Azizi ruled out direct talks with Washington saying that remarks by the U.S. nuclear negotiator, Steve Witkoff, regarding talks with Tehran are a “lie”.
Witkoff said at the Concordia Annual Summit that the U.S. is interested in negotiating with Iran and added, "We're talking to them (Iran) ... Why wouldn't we?"
The Iranian lawmaker also warned that if the snapback mechanism of UN nuclear sanctions is activated, the Iran-IAEA cooperation deal signed this month in Egypt will be null and void.
The Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are in New York to take part at the 80th General Assembly of the United Nations with a crucial last-minute working agenda to prevent re-imposition of the UN nuclear sanctions.
Iran’s Parliament is set to discuss withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on Sunday coinciding the date the pre-2015 sanctions could be re-instated.
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Millions of Muslims around the world have begun observing Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and the most sacred period in Islam.
Qarabağ FK will face Newcastle United in the UEFA Champions League play-off round on Wednesday evening in Baku, in what will be the first UEFA competition meeting between the two clubs.
Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify in a high-profile trial in Los Angeles examining claims that the company’s platforms contributed to youth addiction and mental health harm.
The drumbeats have finally faded at the Marquês de Sapucaí, bringing the competitive phase of the Rio Carnival 2026 to a dazzling close. Over two marathon nights of spectacle, the twelve elite schools of the "Special Group" transformed the Sambadrome into a riot of colour.
Cuba’s fuel crisis has turned into a waste crisis, with rubbish piling up on most street corners in Havana as many collection trucks lack enough petrol to operate.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy held military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday (16 February), state-linked media reported. The drill took place a day before renewed nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington in Geneva.
Ruben Vardanyan has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Baku Military Court after being found guilty of a series of offences including war crimes, terrorism and crimes against humanity.
Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced on 16 February that the Honourable Janice Charette has been appointed as the next Chief Trade Negotiator to the United States. She's been tasked with overseeing the upcoming review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
The Pentagon has threatened to designate artificial intelligence firm Anthropic as a “supply chain risk” amid a dispute over the military use of its Claude AI model, according to a report published Monday.
Turkmenistan is preparing for a presidential visit to Brussels as the European Parliament considers ratifying a partnership agreement that has been stalled since 1998, with energy cooperation emerging as a key driver of renewed dialogue.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has warned that clearing the vast of rubble in Gaza could take up to seven years at the current pace, as the overwhelming majority of residents continue to live in what it describes as extremely dangerous conditions.
Kyrgyzstan faces a critical political turning point as elite splits and public protests highlight deep divisions in Bishkek. Analysts warn that President Japarov’s dismissal of a top ally could shift the balance of power and threaten Kyrgyzstan’s political stability.
Tehran’s right to develop and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is “inherent, inalienable, and non‑negotiable,” Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, told the high-level segment of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Tuesday (17 February).
Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, is moving to criminalise what it calls “extremism against the constitutional order”, introducing a new article to the Criminal Code that could lead to prison sentences of up to three years.
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