Iran's Nuclear Chief Confirms Russia to Build 8 Large Power Plants, Details Restricted IAEA Access

Iran (IMNA) - Speaking on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, Eslami detailed the power plant agreement with Russia, which has been in place since the 1980s.

The original agreement covers the construction of eight large-scale power plants. Four of these units, with a total capacity of 5,000 megawatts, are planned for Bushehr. A second cluster of four units will be built in Hormozgan Province.

Eslami confirmed a "pre-contract" memorandum of understanding (MoU) has already been signed to move the project toward an executable implementation plan.

In addition to the large-scale units, Eslami stated that a second part of the agreement focuses on developing small-scale modular reactors (SMRs), which were not part of the original contract. Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned company, has already signed an MoU with Tehran on this cooperation, and the main contract is expected to be finalized soon.

Restricted IAEA Access

Eslami also clarified that the presence of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors in Iran is now severely restricted, operating strictly under the framework of a bill passed by the Iranian Parliament.

The new law, which was unanimously passed on June 25, requires the government to suspend all cooperation with the IAEA. This legislation followed a successful retaliatory operation by Iran that reportedly imposed a halt to Israeli-US aggression that had targeted three of Iran’s nuclear sites.

Eslami explained that the new parliamentary law sets two conditions for full cooperation:

1. The IAEA must condemn attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites.

2. The IAEA must provide a formal guarantee to protect information related to Iran’s nuclear industry.

According to Eslami, the IAEA "has not fulfilled its legal duty," meaning the parliament's law remains in effect. He stressed that the presence of inspectors is not determined by the Agency’s own plans. Only two pre-approved inspections—at the Bushehr nuclear facility and the Tehran research reactor —have been authorized, after which the inspectors immediately left the country.