Russia and Iran Ink $25 Billion Nuclear Power Deal for Southern Iran

Major Nuclear Expansion Announced

The Russian Federation and Iran have formalized a substantial $25 billion agreement for the construction of four new nuclear power reactors in southern Iran. The deal, reported on Friday, September 26, 2025, signifies a significant expansion of Iran's nuclear energy capabilities and further solidifies cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. The agreement was signed between Russia's state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, and Iran's Iran Hormoz company. A memorandum of understanding had been signed earlier on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, in Moscow.

Project Details and Location

The new nuclear power plants, designated as Generation III reactors, are slated for construction in Sirik, Hormozgan Province, a southern region of Iran. The project will encompass a 500-hectare site. Each of the four reactors is projected to have a capacity of 1,255 megawatts, contributing a combined total of approximately 5,000 megawatts (5 GW) to Iran's national electricity grid. This substantial addition aims to address Iran's growing energy demands.

Key figures involved in the signing included Alexey Likhachev, the chief of Rosatom, and Mohammad Eslami, Iran's Vice President and head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).

Strategic Context and Broader Cooperation

This agreement comes at a critical juncture, coinciding with the potential reimposition of sweeping United Nations sanctions on Iran. Russia has consistently supported Iran's right to develop its civilian nuclear program and has opposed efforts to reinstate international sanctions.

Iran currently operates one nuclear power plant, located in Bushehr, which was also constructed with Russian assistance and has a capacity of 1 GW. Iranian officials have stated a long-term objective to achieve 20 GW of nuclear energy capacity by 2040. The new deal represents a significant step towards this goal.

Beyond the large-scale reactors, a separate memorandum of understanding was also signed for cooperation in the development and construction of small modular reactors (SMRs), indicating a broader and deeper collaboration in nuclear technology between the two nations.