The Bushehr plant has been in the works since 1995, when Russia and Iran signed a $1-billion dollar deal for the construction of a 1000-megawatt light water reactor. To be sure, Iran insists that its nuclear ambitions are peaceful and aimed only at increasing domestic energy sources. Indeed, Iran has promised to send spent nuclear fuel back to Russia, and the UN nuclear watchdog agency notes, “Tehran currently enriches uranium-235 to a level of 3.7 percent, which can only be used for the generation of electricity. Nuclear arms production requires an enrichment level of above 90 percent.”
Still, some troubling questions remain. Steve Schippert of the Center for Treat Awareness has wondered why Iran has continued “enrichment if Russia supplies the fuel for its only production reactor? And, what use does Iran have for the enriched uranium it will soon begin producing in significant quantities itself?”
