Tehran/Moscow – Tehran and Moscow have signed a $25 billion deal to construct four nuclear power reactors in southern Iran, a deal that comes just hours before the possible reimposition of sweeping UN sanctions on Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Iran’s state broadcaster announced on Friday that “a deal for the construction of four nuclear power plants with a value of $25 billion in Sirik, Hormozgan was signed between the Iran Hormoz company and Rosatom.” The project will be built on a 500-hectare site in Hormozgan Province, across the Gulf from Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

According to Iranian state media, each of the four third-generation reactors will have a capacity of 1,255 megawatts, generating a total of around 5,000 megawatts of electricity once complete. Officials said the deal reflects a commitment to “developing joint cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy”.

Energy Needs and Existing Infrastructure

Iran currently operates only one nuclear power plant, in Bushehr, also built by Russia, with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts. That facility meets just a fraction of the country’s energy demand, which suffers periodic shortages during peak consumption.

Iranian officials have long said they plan to reach 20 gigawatts of nuclear-generated power by 2040. Russia had already pledged in 2014 to build up to eight reactors in Iran as part of those plans.

Ceremony in Moscow

The signing took place at the Atom Expo 2025 in Moscow during World Atom Week, marking the 80th anniversary of Russia’s nuclear industry. The exhibition, described by Moscow as the largest international gathering for the nuclear sector this year, included pavilions from Iran, Russia, China, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and international organizations. 

Iranian Vice President and nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami and Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev attended the signing. The agreement followed a memorandum of understanding earlier this week between Eslami and Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev on expanding cooperation. 

Later in the day, the World Atom Assembly convened with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Eslami, and senior officials from over 100 countries and international organizations in attendance.

Geopolitical Timing

The deal was finalized as the UN Security Council prepared to vote on a China- and Russia-backed resolution to delay the “snapback” of international sanctions on Iran for at least six months. The mechanism, triggered by Britain, France, and Germany, is expected to take effect by Saturday. The European states argue that Iran has failed to meet its commitments under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Russia and China, meanwhile, have pushed for more diplomacy to keep the 2015 nuclear accord alive. Moscow has also condemned recent United States and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June, which escalated into a brief 12-day war earlier this year. Israel had claimed, without providing evidence, that Iran was close to producing nuclear weapons.

Iran’s Position

Iran continues to insist its nuclear programme is peaceful. President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated earlier this week at the United Nations General Assembly that Tehran will “never seek to build a nuclear bomb”.

Historical Context

The new reactors will add to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, which began with a 1993 agreement between Tehran and Moscow after Germany abandoned work on Bushehr following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Rosatom’s involvement has since expanded, with Iran and Russia steadily deepening nuclear and energy cooperation.

Also See: Russia-Iran Alliances: Strategic Pact Signals 20-Year Shift