Iran and Russia sign MOU for small modular reactors

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation (AEOI) and Russia’s Rosatom have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate on small modular reactors (SMRs) in Iran. The agreement was signed in Moscow by AEOI head Mohammad Eslami and Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev during Rosatom’s World Atomic Week.

The MOU aims to expand collaboration in peaceful nuclear energy, supporting sustainable development, energy security, and technological progress under national and international regulations.

AEOI said contracts for designing and building SMR-based plants will follow. The reactors are expected to develop nuclear expertise, related industries, and power plant equipment in Iran, while adding capacity for industrial power use and grid balancing.

Eslami said Iran and Russia plan to build eight new nuclear plants, with formal agreements to be signed soon, aiming to reach 20 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2040.

He added that Russia is constructing the second and third units of the Bushehr plant, which started in 1975, paused in 1979, and resumed in 1992 using Russian VVER-1000 technology. The first unit was connected to the grid in 2011 and formally handed over in 2013.

Eslami said the eight-unit plan includes four units at Bushehr. Site preparation for the remaining plants is complete, and design and engineering work will begin once agreements are finalized.