Iran begins construction of new nuclear reactor – DW – 02/05/2024

Iran said this Monday (02/05/2024) that it has started the construction of a new nuclear reactor in Isfahan, a few days after announcing that it was building a nuclear plant complex in the south.

“Today the process of pouring cement for the reactor’s foundation began,” Mohammad Eslami, director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, announced, according to state media IRNA.

The Isfahan Nuclear Research Center in central Iran already has three reactors. The new 10-megawatt nuclear reactor is being built to create a powerful neutron source, the same source said.

The reactor will be used for a variety of purposes, he said, such as testing nuclear fuel and materials, and production of radioisotopes and industrial radiopharmaceuticals.

Tehran has been under US sanctions since 2018, when then-President Donald Trump withdrew his country from a landmark nuclear deal that had guaranteed Iran relief from international sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear activities.

Iran has always denied any intention of developing its nuclear weapons capability and insists that its activities are entirely peaceful.

AFP/DPA/RR