Moscow prepares launch of Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant

Russian engineers are close to putting Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant fully on line, a senior government official said Friday, dpa reported.

Technicians from Russia's Rosatom nuclear power company are running final tests on the plant's turbines, Rosatom director Sergei Kiriyenko said in a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

"We want the plant handed over to the Iranians soon," Kiriyenko said.

The Bushehr plant on the Persian Gulf has been running at minimal operating capacity since a May startup. The reactor uses Russian technology and has a rated capacity of 1,000 megawatts.

Iranian officials had predicted the station would be fully operational by July, but the station was later hit with a computer virus.

Iranian officials have said they have no interest in developing nuclear weapons and that the Bushehr station is intended only for peaceful purposes.


/Trend/