Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, April 2007 (Fars) - Iran's first civilian nuclear power plant is about 92 percent complete. Iranian Atomic Energy Organization deputy head Mohammad Saedi recently said the plant's start-up date has been pushed back to March 2008.

The plant is located in southern Iran, about 17 kilometers south of the Persian Gulf port of Bushehr. The plant is being built under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In June 2004, IAEA Director-General Muhammad el-Baradei said the project is "not of international concern."

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, April 2007 (Fars) - The Bushehr plant was the brainchild of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who believed Iran had to prepare for the time when it's oil and natural-gas reserves were exhausted. In the early 1970s, the shah approved plans to build 23 reactors by 2000.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, April 2007 (Fars) - Work on the plant was originally begun in 1975 by the German firm Kraftwerk AG. The original project called for two 1,196-megawatt light-water reactors to be completed by 1981

Vice President Parviz Davudi visiting the Bushehr plant in April 2007 (Fars) - Kraftwerk suspended work at Bushehr in January 1979 with one reactor about 85 percent complete and the other about 50 percent finished. At the time, Kraftwerk claimed Iran had failed to pay some $450 million on the construction contract.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, April 2007 (Fars) - The 1979 Islamic Revolution was a turning point in Iran's relations with most Western nations, both for ideological reasons and because the revolutionary turmoil paralyzed Iran's economy.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, April 2007 (Fars) - The idle Bushehr facility was damaged by repeated Iraqi air strikes during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War. Iran's entire nuclear program is believed to have come to a virtual standstill during that conflict.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, April 2007 (Fars) - After the war, Iran once again sought foreign partners for its nuclear program and for Bushehr in particular. In 1995, Tehran signed a $1 billion deal with Russia's Atomstroieksport to install one 1,000-megawatt pressurized-water reactor. There are no current plans to complete Bushehr's second reactor.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, April 2007 (Fars) - The United States has charged that Iran could use know-how developed at Bushehr as part of an alleged secret nuclear-weapons program. Tehran denies any intention of building nuclear weapons. Tehran has warned Russia not to link the project with the international dispute over Iran's nuclear program.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, April 2007 (Fars) - On April 3, Iranian news agencies reported that logistical units of the plant have commenced operation. The newly launched units include non-mineral water production, central cold water for control systems, a central pumping station, and a 400-kilowatt electrical-transmission facility.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, April 2007 (Fars) - Russia in March failed to make the first delivery of nuclear fuel to Bushehr, as it was supposed to under a September 2006 bilateral agreement. Under that agreement, all spent nuclear fuel was to be returned to Russia for reprocessing.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, April 2007 (Fars) - Moscow announced that it did not deliver the fuel because Iran had failed to make payments due under the Bushehr agreements. Iran has rejected the claim, saying it has fulfilled its financial commitments.