Iran goes ahead with construction works for second reactor at Bushehr site
Russia built the existing 1,000 megawatt reactor at Bushehr nuclear plant and is set to build third, Iran says
Iran announced on Sunday that it went ahead with the construction works for a second nuclear reactor at its Bushehr nuclear power plant on the Gulf coast.
Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), and deputy chief of Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom, Alexander Lokshin, launched the new stage at a ceremony where concrete was poured for the reactor base.
The landmark 2015 nuclear deal Iran signed with six major powers, including Russia, placed restrictions on the sort of nuclear reactor Tehran could develop and its production of nuclear fuel.
It did not, however, require Iran to halt its use of nuclear energy for power generation.
The Islamic republic has been seeking to reduce its reliance on oil and gas through the development of nuclear power facilities.
Russia built the existing 1,000 megawatt reactor at Bushehr that came online in September 2011 and is expected to undertake construction of a third in future, according to the AEOI.
As part of the 2015 agreement, Moscow provides Tehran with the fuel it needs for its electricity-generating nuclear reactors.
The development comes as the deal is slowly unraveled, with Tehran walking back on its commitments under the accord.