Iran's first nuclear power plant to be inaugurated

On Monday, Iran's first nuclear power plant will be formally inaugurated. Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Minister says his country is ready to hold nuclear talks with the world's major powers. The start-up of the 1-billion US dollar, 1000-megawatt Bushehr plant will come as a relief to Tehran, after many years of delays and false starts. Ali Akbar Salehi, Iranian Foreign Minister, said, "God willing, we will officially hold the celebration marking the launch of the Bushehr Nuclear Plant, and the plant will be connected to the main national power grid. It will generate 35 to 40 per cent of its capacity that means about 350 to 400 megawatts." The launch of this plant is seen by the Islamic Republic of Iran as a long-delayed milestone in its nuclear development programs which the West fears are aimed at developing nuclear weapons. Mohamnad Narandi, Assoc. Prof. of University of Tehran, said, "Despite the fact that western countries have been trying to prevent Iran from developing and becoming an advanced country, despite the sanctions, and the pressure, Iran has achieved a great deal of progress in its nuclear program, both in producing electricity, as well as producing its own fuel for peaceful purposes. And as for the IAEA, in all of its declarations and statements, as we've seen so far, there is no evidence whatsoever that Iran's nuclear program is anything but peaceful." Bushehr's launch comes with Russia pushing to revive talks between major world powers and Iran about its uranium enrichment work, seen in the West as a potential proliferation threat since highly refined uranium fuels nuclear weapons. Fears have been voiced over potential safety problems for Bushehr which, like Fukushima, the site of Japan's devastating nuclear melt-down, is in a major earthquake zone, albeit not one at risk of a tsunami.