Iran Goes Shopping in Russia

IRAN GOES SHOPPING IN RUSSIA
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is concluding a visit to Russia, where he has finalized deals for the purchase of conventional arms from Moscow and for continued assistance with Iran’s controversial nuclear program.

On Thursday, Khatami toured a Russian factory that makes nuclear reactors, amid US protests that the plant is helping Iran develop nuclear technology. He went to the Izhora factory in St. Petersburg to observe the manufacture of a reactor core for Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant. The core will be shipped to Iran in the third quarter of this year, and Iran will sign a contract for a second reactor core once the first is delivered.

Russia signed a contract in 1995 to build the first reactor at Iran’s Bushehr power plant. It is to be completed by 2003 for an estimated $800 million. The US has strongly objected to the project, fearing the technology could be used to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has no real domestic need for nuclear energy, since it produces a surplus of oil from its own natural petroleum reserves. In the past, Washington has also imposed sanctions against Russian companies accused of providing missile technology to Iran.

Earlier this week, Khatami and the Iranian delegation toured the Russian space mission control outside Moscow, and expressed interest in buying both military and civilian aerospace technology.

Used with Permission from International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.

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