MOSCOW, July 26: The Russian government voiced its right on Friday to build a second nuclear power plant in Iran despite fierce US criticism of an existing project.

The announcement of a new 10-year Iranian nuclear development programme surprised analysts and some politicians, coming less than a month after the West agreed a confidence-building 20-billion-dollar aid package for dismantling Russia’s weapons of mass destruction.

Some noted that Iran may have no intention of buying a second nuclear plant from Russia and read the announcement as a bid by Moscow to up the stakes and win new Western concessions for ending its nuclear relations with a nation identified as a member of an “axis of evil” by Washington.

Moscow’s programmeme states that Russia intends to build all four reactors at the southern Bushehr plant — only one has been completed so far — along with two more 1,000 megawatt blocks in Ahvaz, about 100kms from the Iraqi border.

A copy of the document states that Russia wants to “develop a long-term programme of cooperation in the sphere of peaceful use of atomic energy” with Iran.

Nuclear analysts said the idea of Russia building a second Iranian plant has floated around since the original Bushehr contract was signed in 1995 but that the plans had recently been all but buried.

“I’m not sure if the 1995 agreement was ever published, but it was an open secret that it said that Russia wanted to build a second plant. The problem is, people forgot it because Russia is barely able to complete Bushehr,” said Ivan Safranchuk of Russia’s Center for Defense Information.

“Iran does not want a second plant, it wants a mechanism for enriching uranium fuel to weapons-grade,” he said. “But if a new contract is ever signed, one can only imagine the heat that will come from the United States.”

Some analysts interpreted the announcement as a move in a delicate game of brinkmanship rather than serious declaration of intent.

“Russia seems to be ignoring the will of Washington,” said independent military analyst Alexander Golts.

“It’s curious, because one of the conditions (for the 20-billion-dollar aid project agreed by the G8 last month) was that Russia abandon cooperation with Iran,” he said.

“So either Russia does not want the money, or it is bargaining for more Western concessions for ending its Iranian programme,” said Golts.

Both the US and Israel fear that Russian-Iranian nuclear cooperation could enable Tehran to acquire the technology needed to build nuclear weapons.—AFP