Russia signs $25 billion deal to build four nuclear power plants in Iran

Iran and Russia have signed a $25 billion deal to build a nuclear power plant in Tehran, Iranian state media reported on Friday, as the threat of tough UN sanctions against the country looms.

Iran's state television reported that the Iran Hormoz Company and Russia's state-owned nuclear agency Rosatom have signed an agreement to build four nuclear power plants in the Sirik region of Hormozgan province.

Each plant will have a capacity of 1,255 megawatts. No details were given on the construction schedule.

Currently, Iran has only one operational power plant with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts in Bushehr in southern Iran, which is negligible compared to the country's energy needs.

The deal comes as European parties are set to reimpose "snapback" sanctions on Saturday over alleged violations of the 2015 nuclear deal. Britain, France and Germany launched the process last month.

China and Russia proposed a six-month extension of talks at a Security Council meeting on Friday, but there are doubts about whether they will be approved.

Western countries have long accused Iran of secretly seeking to build nuclear bombs. Tehran denies the allegations, saying its program is for civilian purposes only.

Tehran has been gradually withdrawing from its commitments since the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. Washington and Tehran were negotiating a new deal later, but the talks stalled when Israel launched an unprecedented 12-day war in June this year.

Iran signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement with Russia in 1993. The Bushehr plant was built under that agreement, which was originally started by Germany but was shut down after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.