Joint operating company for Iran's nuclear plant

Russia and Iran will form a joint operating company for the Bushehr nuclear plant nearing completion and expected to come online during the second part of this year, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

The plant is being constructed by Russia’s state-owned nuclear technology exporter Atomstroiexport, and is part of a deal in which Russia will supply Iran with the nuclear fuel for the plant’s operations and bring the spent fuel back to Russia for reprocessing. Russia will also train Iranian technicians on the operation of the facility.

The news comes as the UN Security Council voted to tighten sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme. The new measures, the fourth round since 2006, include financial curbs, an expanded arms embargo and warnings to UN member states to be vigilant about a range of Iranian activities. Iran's national shipping company is targeted, as are entities controlled by the Revolutionary Guard, the backbone of the Islamic regime and keeper of its nuclear programme. Russia and China, permanent members of the council with a veto like the US, Britain and France, refused to support sanctions targeting Iran's energy sector or which would harm ordinary people. The Bushehr deal and framework, however, is excluded from the sanctions tabled.

“Iran is increasingly suffering from project financing problems throughout its industry and energy sector, given the problems involved just in transferring money in and out of the country now and the perceived risk among international companies of dealing with Iranian entities,” comments Sam Ciszuk, analyst at IHS Global Insight. “The flipside of the sanctions from an international point of view has, however, been that the capital flight from Iran over the past decade has allowed Revolutionary Guards, the Bonyad religious foundations, and other regime affiliates to snap up Iranian companies and projects—not least in the energy industry—en masse, giving regime-supporting elements vast influence throughout the country’s economy from where they will be very hard to dislodge.”