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Monday, December 1, 2008

IAEA monitors safety of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant

The International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA) representative to Iran Christer Viktorsson said on Sunday that IAEA monitors the safety of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, in Iran's southern Bushehr province, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"Cooperation between IAEA and Iran on the security and safety of Bushehr nuclear power plant is in line with existing protocols and agreements," IRNA quoted Viktorsson as saying, adding that "Iran is now fully cooperating with IAEA to maintain safety of Bushehr nuclear power plant."

He made the remarks in the First International Seminar on Nuclear Power Plant, Environment and Sustainable Development which was opened in Tehran Sunday morning in the presence of Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani.

Referring to IAEA's due obligations, he added that "IAEA renders any services to meet safety demands during setting up of new nuclear power plants," and technical points should be observed by the countries in the construction of the nuclear power plants.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant is Iran's first nuclear power plant. It originally started in the mid-1970s by Siemens of Germany but abandoned with the outbreak of the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran and Russia, after reached the agreement on nuclear cooperation in 1992, signed a contract in January 1995 to finish the construction of the plant.

However, completion of the plant has been repeatedly delayed. The construction of the plant is at its last stages and Russians have promised to complete it in 2009, according to the Iranian media.

Source: ChinaView

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