Russia could build further nuclear reactors in Iran

Nov 10, 2011, 21:13 GMT

Moscow - Russia was considering building more nuclear reactors in Iran, its nuclear agency Rosatom said Thursday, two days after the International Atomic Energy Agency gave its clearest assessment yet that Iran was pursuing nuclear weapons.

'We are examining possible orders,' Rosatom chief Sergey Kiriyenko said, in remarks quoted by news agency Interfax.

A nuclear plant that Russia had built in the southern Iranian Gulf port of Bushehr had 'raised no objections with the international community,' Kiriyenko said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that, together with China, they had agreed to find a solution through negotiations to the international stand-off over Iran's nuclear programme.

Speaking in Moscow, Iranian nuclear mediator Ali Bageri dismissed the IAEA allegations.

The US in particular was 'spreading all sorts of rumours, including those about military components of Iran's nuclear programme.'

Russia is rejecting international calls for new sanctions against Iran, following Tuesday's release of the IAEA report. Instead, Moscow is appealing for all sides to engage in dialogue.

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