Iran08 September, 20262 min read
Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev Says Iran Wants New Nuclear Power Units With Russia
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Iran seeks to build new nuclear power units with Russia's participation Iran aims to expand nuclear capacity beyond the Bushehr reactor with Russia
9 outlets told this the same way.
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Rosatom: new units
Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom’s CEO Alexey Likhachev said Iran is interested in building new nuclear power plant units with Russia’s cooperation, with Tehran’s willingness to expand joint cooperation described through his remarks. The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was cited as the result of decades of joint work between the two countries and as currently producing 1,024 megawatts of nuclear electricity for Iran.
Rosatom’s CEO also pointed to Phases II and III of the Bushehr complex, described as under construction with Russian involvement and as having a capacity of over 2,000 megawatts. The same thrust of the claim—Tehran’s desire to build new nuclear reactor units with Russia’s participation—was repeated in reporting that Iran intends to construct new nuclear power plant units in collaboration with Russia.
Bushehr and expansion
Reporting tied Rosatom’s comments to the existing Bushehr project, saying Iran currently has one operating nuclear power plant, the Bushehr plant, and that its first unit was connected to the Iranian national grid in September 2011. Tasnim News Agency also said Rosatom’s CEO told Sputnik that "They certainly have this desire," and it described Rosatom’s program as including the construction of two additional units at Bushehr.
Other coverage said Iran and Russia signed at the end of September 2025 an agreement valued at $25 billion to build four nuclear power units at a new Hormozgan Province nuclear plant, with the text naming Hormozgan Province and describing the project as a new nuclear power plant. ANNA News Agency added that under the agreement reached in Mehr 1404 (October–November 2025 in the Iranian calendar), four third-generation, advanced nuclear units with a capacity of about 1,255 megawatts per unit and a total capacity of 5,020 megawatts were envisaged.
What’s next for cooperation
The reporting framed Rosatom’s remarks as part of ongoing implementation, with one account saying the Rosatom program includes construction of two additional units at Bushehr and that the implementation of these projects continues. Mehr News Agency said Likhachev’s remarks indicate nuclear cooperation between Tehran and Moscow could expand beyond the ongoing Bushehr projects, potentially leading to the construction of additional nuclear power units in Iran.
The same Mehr report reiterated that the plant developed through joint efforts since the 1990s currently generates 1,024 megawatts of nuclear electricity for Iran and that Units 2 and 3 are underway with Russian participation. It also described the two units as expected to have a combined capacity of more than 2,000 megawatts, placing the expansion discussion alongside the existing construction timeline.