A $25 billion agreement for the construction of four advanced third-generation nuclear power plants in Sirik, located in Iran's southern Hormozgan Province, was signed between Iran's Hormoz Company and Russia's Rosatom Company.

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, announced that the Iran Hormoz nuclear power plant site, located in the southern province of Hormozgan and possessing a planned capacity of 5,000 megawatts, will soon enter its design and equipment procurement phase.

Eslami made his remarks on the sidelines of a meeting with the CEO of Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, during which the two signed the memorandum of understanding.

“During the (ongoing) visit to Russia, while reviewing the current cooperation and topics of interest of the two countries, we have been able to make optimal use of the opportunity of strategic cooperation between Iran and Russia,” he stated.

Eslami stated that Iran and Russia maintain strong cooperation on nuclear power plant construction but emphasized the need to review and strengthen this process and to take new steps aligned with the AEOI's 20-year strategic document.

Construction of SMRs central in the agreement

Mohammad Eslami announced that during this trip, the two sides will sign and exchange two new agreements, one of which concerns the construction of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to align with rapid global advancements in this area.

“We have also conducted extensive studies (in this field) and have designed (projects), and we also have the necessary industrial capacity. It was important for us to cooperate with Russia in this field and put a specific project on the agenda and implement it," Eslami added.

According to the AEOI chief, two significant and extensive steps, the development of Small Modular Reactors and the advancement of large-scale power plants, particularly the new generation of 1,200-megawatt facilities, will contribute to the country's nuclear development.

Upon his arrival in Moscow on Monday, Eslami told reporters that his trip would include visits to several factories and meetings with scientific and research institutes for the purpose of strengthening research and educational interactions.

Earlier today in Moscow, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), stated that Iran and Russia had held negotiations regarding the construction of power plants that would be larger than the Bushehr power plant.

He hailed the Russians' cooperation with Iran in building the Bushehr Power Plant in the south of the country and stated that the plant fully meets international standards.