- MOSCOW (UPI) - Russia and
Iran announced Thursday that the Islamic Republic's controversial nuclear
power plant has been completed.
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- Iran's Beshehr nuclear plant, estimated to have cost
$800 million, has angered the United States, which is concerned that spent
nuclear fuel could be used to construct weapons.
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- Under enormous international pressure, Russia has stood
by Iran in its bid to generate nuclear energy. To reassure the world,
Russia
has stated that it will continue to pressure Iran to honor agreements
stipulated
by the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, doubts remain.
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- Thursday Iran became very close to becoming a nuclear
power - for domestic electricity generation. The announcement made
Thursday,
immediately after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Iran,
signals that Russia will continue to stand by Iran and push Tehran to
comply
with international agreements on nuclear energy.
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- To ally fears of possible nuclear weapons production,
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Thursday that the Kremlin would
vouch for Tehran's nuclear ambitions not going beyond civil use.
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- Attending an informal gathering between NATO and Russian
defense ministers in the Romanian town of Poiana Brasov, Ivanov stated,
according to the Interfax news agency: Russia is helping Iran to build
a nuclear power plant in Beshehr. I can assure you that the International
Atomic Energy has strict control over the project, which rules out the
possible use of Russian technologies and materials for military
purposes.
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- However, not everyone is convinced. The Beshehr plant
is now complete, but handling of spent nuclear rods remains an outstanding
issue. A Russian-Iranian agreement on returning spent nuclear rods to
Russia
was scheduled last year. Russia's Atomic Energy Agency now claims that
such an agreement could be signed as early as November since only a few
commercial issues need to be ironed out. The fact the plant was completed
before an agreement was reached on spent fuel rods is representative of
the unease many have toward a nuclear Iran in any form.
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- Signing such an agreement in November is problematic
at best and quite possibly beyond the control of Iran and Russia. The IAEA
is scheduled to meet on Nov. 25 to determine if Iran should face a U.N.
Security Council vote that, in theory, could carry possible sanctions if
Iran were to be found violating international nuclear energy conventions.
However, in reality, as Russia has veto power over any U.N. Security
Council
vote, Tehran expects to avoid international censure - but not international
outcries and criticism if the IAEA finds Iran not in compliance. An
oft-asked
question is why Iran wants or needs nuclear energy for civil power
generation
use. Iran is, after all, one of the world's largest petroleum producers
and easily able to meet domestic energy concerns.
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- Equally puzzling for some is Russia's interest in the
Beshehr project.
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- Russian contractors surely benefit from the plant's
construction,
but the Kremlin takes the heat for helping a country whose attitude to
the outside world is problematic at best. Even the slightest possibly that
Iran could one day produce a nuclear weapon would send the greater Middle
East, already rocked by violence and instability, into a deadly arms race
which would most likely threaten Russia as well. Russia's interest in
standing
by Iran does have some logic though. Iran remains Russia's strongest ally
in the region. In return, Tehran is willing to cooperate, to a degree,
in keeping Russia's southern flank stable. With Islamic fundamentalism
a clear and present danger to Russia's domestic and international security,
helpful intelligence and other forms of assistance from Iran is sorely
appreciated and vitally needed. With Iran close to Russia, the Kremlin
also has a window in China's regional ambitions.
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- Russia has decided to vouch for Iran's non-threatening
nuclear ambitions. It does so at great risk. Iran last month threatened
to disregard an IAEA demand to stop work on enriching uranium - the key
element to creating a weapon. Only after very strong pressure from the
Kremlin did Iran relent. The repeated need to do so worries the U.S. and
Iran neighbors.
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- Another worrying issue was the announcement made by
Russia's
Atomic Agency after the construction at Beshehr was called complete. The
only remaining work includes assembly of some security and control
equipment.
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- Will Russia vouch for this as well?
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- Peter Lavelle is an independent Moscow-based analyst
and the author of Untimely Thoughts, an electronic newsletter on Russia.
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