DATE=11/24/98 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-242092 TITLE=RUSSIA / IRAN / NUCLEAR (L ONLY) BYLINE=GIL BUTLER DATELINE=MOSCOW CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: RUSSIA HAS SIGNED AN AGREEMENT TO COMPLETE CONSTRUCTION OF A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN IRAN AND STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF BUILDING A SECOND FACILITY. V-O-A'S GIL BUTLER REPORTS FROM MOSCOW. TEXT: THE RUSSIAN NEWS AGENCY ITAR-TASS REPORTED AN AGREEMENT WAS SIGNED IN TEHRAN TO SPEED CONSTRUCTION OF A POWER PLANT IN BUSHEHR, IRAN. NO DATE WAS GIVEN FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE FACILITY, BUT BOTH IRAN AND RUSSIA HAVE SAID IT IS EXPECTED TO BE COMMISSIONED NEXT YEAR. IN ADDITION THERE IS TO BE A THREE MONTH FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR CONSTRUCTION OF ANOTHER ONE-THOUSAND MEGAWATT UNIT AT BESHEHR AND A SECOND PLANT ELSEWHERE IN IRAN. THE COST OF THE FIRST BUSHEHR FACILITY WAS PUT BY IRANIAN OFFICIALS AS 780 TO 800-MILLION DOLLARS. AT A JOINT NEWS CONFERENCE IN TEHRAN, RUSSIAN NUCLEAR ENERGY MINISTER YEVGENY ADAMOV WAS QUOTED AS SAYING PRESSURE BROUGHT ON RUSSIA BY THE UNITED STATES NOT TO BUILD THE NUCLEAR PLANT WILL NOT AFFECT THE SCHEDULE. BOTH THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL HAVE OBJECTED TO IRAN'S ACQUIRING NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY, FEARING IT COULD BE USED TO DEVELOP NUCLEAR WEAPONS. RUSSIA INSISTS THE REACTOR CAN BE USED ONLY FOR CIVILIAN PURPOSES. TEHRAN RADIO ALSO SAID THE BUSHEHR PLANT WILL BE USED ONLY TO GENERATE POWER. IT SAYS THE FACILITIES HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY. THE RUSSIAN NEWS AGENCY SAYS NUCLEAR WASTE FROM THE BUSHEHR FACILITY IS TO BE SHIPPED TO RUSSIA FOR REPROCESSING, THEN RETURNED TO IRAN FOR REPEATED USE. ITAR-TASS ALSO QUOTED MR. ADAMOV AS SAYING UKRAINE'S REFUSAL TO SUPPLY TURBINES FOR THE PLANT WILL HAVE NO EFFECT BECAUSE THEY WILL NOW BE CONSTRUCTED IN ST. PETERSBURG. THE BESHEHR NUCLEAR PLANT WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED BY THE LATE SHAH OF IRAN IN 1974, BUT THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION AND THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR HALTED WORK. RUSSIA AGREED TO BUILD THE PLANT IN 1995, AND ABOUT 600 RUSSIANS HAVE BEEN AT WORK THERE. NOW, APPARENTLY, AN ACCELERATED TIME TABLE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED FOR ITS COMPLETION. (SIGNED) NEB/MGB/JWH 24-Nov-98 10:54 AM EST (1554 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
