TEHRAN – Iran’s top nuclear official said Saturday that the country will build a new nuclear power plant in the southwest province of Khuzestan.

The official, Mohammad Eslami, who is the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said the 360-MW nuclear plant, named Karun, will be built with domestic capabilities.

“The operation of equipping the Karun power plant construction workshop has started. We have concluded contracts for the required heavy equipment with domestic industries, and we hope to see the construction of an all-Iranian power plant in accordance with international standards in the Darokhvein region in the future,” he said during a trip to Khuzestan. 

He said, “Enemies tried to break our will with sanctions and did not cooperate with us regarding the construction of nuclear power plant even after many years.”

Eslami added, “Enemy sanctions include radiopharmaceuticals, energy, and other effects that nuclear technology can have on people's lives. But we decided to thwart the enemy's goals by believing in our ability and by confronting the sanctions and follow the steps of success by using our internal strength and capacity. We can build a nuclear power plant in this region by trusting the internal forces and Iranian engineers, researchers and industrialists, because with the development of such power plants, we can provide stable electricity for Khuzestan and the southwestern region of the country.”

He stated, “The executive operation of the Karun power plant in Darokhvein started two months ago, and the aim of the Atomic Energy Organization to build a power plant in this area is to produce 2000 megawatts of electricity. In the preliminary phase, we will implement the production of 300 megawatts of electricity, and at the same time we will follow other steps so that we can make maximum use of the capacity created in the Darokhvein region.”