Text of report in English by Iranian news agency IRNA web site

Moscow, 8 July: Iran plans to construct 20 atomic power plants in the coming years, said the rapporteur of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission at Parliament (Majlis) here Thursday [7 July].

In a meeting with head of the Russia Federal Atomic Energy Agency, Aleksandr Rumyantsev, Kazem Jalali added: "It is economical for Iran to produce nuclear fuel needed by these power plants."

Jalali, who is also head of the Iran-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group, urged Moscow to run Bushehr Power Plant and supply it with necessary fuel according to the timetable.

He said: "As the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has announced, the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme is peaceful."

Iran reserves the right to enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel, said the official adding his country wants to enjoy its inalienable rights according to nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and international regulations.

Although Majlis has yet to ratify the Additional Protocol, Tehran has fully cooperated with the IAEA, aiming to build confidence, he added.

Rumyantsev, for his part, pointed to the growing Tehran-Moscow cooperation, calling Iran as a strategic partner of his country.

He voiced his country's readiness to expand bilateral cooperation regarding the Caspian Sea legal regime, North-South transportation corridor, oil and gas exploitation and exports, as well as aerospace and satellite launch.

The ranking Russian official added it is the absolute right of Iran to use nuclear energy peacefully and within the framework of international law.

Deputy head of the Iran-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group, Mohammad Khoshchehreh, and Iran's Ambassador to Russia, Gholam Reza Ansari, were also present at the meeting.

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