Tehran plans nuclear power plants at 5 coastal sites, Iran's atomic energy chief says

Iran is moving forward with plans to build nuclear power plants at five locations along its coastline as part of efforts to expand the share of nuclear energy in the country’s electricity mix, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said Monday.

Mohammad Eslami, vice president and chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, made the remarks during a meeting with members of parliament’s energy and construction commissions, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Eslami said projects are being implemented under Iran’s comprehensive strategic document for the nuclear industry, unveiled in 2022.

“Based on this document, the construction of nuclear power plants at five coastal locations is on the agenda to increase the share of nuclear electricity in the country’s energy basket, and these projects are progressing according to plan,” he said.

The official also said the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant recently surpassed 80 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity generation, a milestone he said had saved the equivalent of 131 million barrels of crude oil or 21.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

Eslami added that the second and third units of the Bushehr plant are currently under construction as part of a $10 billion investment project, describing them as among the country’s largest infrastructure developments.

Bushehr, Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant, is located on the country’s southern Gulf coast and supplies electricity to Iran’s national grid.

Regional tensions have escalated since late February after the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran.

Iranian media have reported that the Bushehr plant was targeted multiple times during the conflict but said the attacks did not disrupt operations or affect the facility’s electricity generation.

Tensions escalated again on Sunday when Israel bombed the Lebanese capital, Beirut, despite an ongoing ceasefire, prompting Iran to launch missiles toward northern Israel in response, while Israel carried out several waves of airstrikes against Iran.

Iran’s military said early Monday it was halting attacks on Israel while warning of a “crushing” response if Israeli attacks on Lebanon continued.

Israeli media, citing unnamed officials, reported that Israel had agreed to halt airstrikes on Iran but would continue its offensive in southern Lebanon.