West to assist Iran in building its second light-water nuclear plant

PanARMENIAN.Net - An Iranian official said some Western states have declared their readiness to help Iran construct its second light-water nuclear plant.



Over the past decade, Russia has been helping Iran to construct a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in the southern Iranian city of Bushehr.



Iranian technicians are currently designing the country's second nuclear plant in Darkhovin, which is located in the southern province of Khuzestan.



The managing director of Iran's Management and Construction of Nuclear Plants Company, Hamid Soltani, said on Sunday that some Western countries have declared their readiness to cooperate with Iran on the Darkhovin project.



Iran plans to begin the construction of the 360-megawatt light-water nuclear reactor by 2012.



"Several Western countries have already declared their readiness to cooperate with Iran on the project. We will try to use international experience," said Soltani.



Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), is planning to use nuclear technology to generate electricity for its national grid.



Electricity shortage forced the Iranian government to adopt a rationing program by scheduling power outages - of up to two hours a day - across both urban and rural areas in the country during the summer.



Spearheaded by Washington, Western powers claim that a nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat to Israel. Contrary to the findings of the UN nuclear watchdog, the US, Israel and their European allies accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weaponry.



In its latest report on Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it could not find any 'components of a nuclear weapon' or 'related nuclear physics studies' in the country, Press TV reports.