Russia to begin building Iran's 2nd nuclear power plant this year - http://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-to-begin-building-irans-second-nuclear-power-plant/
New reactor at Bushehr is part of an agreement with Moscow to construct 8 reactors in all
Russia's state atomic energy company on Monday announced it would begin construction of a second nuclear power plant in Iran's Bushehr region later this year, the Islamic republic's semi-state Fars news agency reported.
According to the report, the facility will be jointly built by Rosatom and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. Work will start in 2015.
No exact date for construction was provided.
The plant is part of a 2014 deal between Tehran and Moscow to build two power plants in Bushehr in the coming years, in addition to the facility that is already operational.
The so-called Bushehr Phase II consists of two reactors at the same Persian Gulf coast site as the existing 1,000 megawatt reactor Russia launched last year.
The countries also agreed to expand the total number of reactors in Bushehr to four, and construct "four similar power units on another site in Iran," the location of which is yet to be provided by Tehran, Rosatom said in November.
The project "will be under the IAEA safeguards and fully meet the nuclear nonproliferation regime," Rosatom said. Nuclear fuel will be produced in Russia and spent fuel returned to Russia.
Iran plans to build 20 more nuclear plants in the future, including four in Bushehr, to decrease its dependence on oil and gas.
The Bushehr plant, which also produces 1,000 megawatts, was built by Russia after being delayed for years and officially handed over in September 2013.
Ahead of a June 30 nuclear deal deadline, US and Iranian diplomats met Friday in what US officials described as the most substantive negotiating round since world powers and Iran clinched a framework pact in April.
The sides are trying to narrow differences over how quickly to ease economic penalties against Tehran and how significantly the Iranians must open up military facilities to international inspections.
Tehran denies claims by the West and Israel that it is seeking nuclear weapons and insists that it is pursuing atomic energy purely for peaceful purposes.
A particularly sensitive issue is Iran's ability to enrich uranium, which Tehran argues is needed to power Bushehr, but Israel and Western powers fear will be used to make an atomic bomb.
Also on Monday a magnitude-4.4 earthquake jolted a sparsely populated district some 70 miles northwest of Bushehr. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The epicenter of the quake was Bandar-e Ganaveh in the country's southwestern coast, according to the USGS.
The Bushehr plant is built to withstand earthquakes of magnitude 8.
In 2013, a magnitude-6.1 temblor killed at least 37 people in an area of the same province where Monday's quake struck.
Iran experiences frequent earthquakes. In 2003, a magnitude-6.6 earthquake killed some 26,000 and flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam.
Nato chief says Russian nuclear threats are 'deeply troubling and dangerous' - http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/28/nato-chief-says-russian-nuclear-threats-are-deeply-troubling-and-dangerous
Jens Stoltenberg says Russian plans such as the deployment of nuclear-capable missiles near the Polish border would 'fundamentally change' European security
Russia's provocative rhetoric and its dramatic expansion of flights by nuclear bombers are deeply troubling and dangerous, the Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.
Russia's plans to deploy nuclear-capable missiles in Kaliningrad - near Poland's border - and its threat to move nuclear forces in Crimea would "fundamentally change the balance of security in Europe," Stoltenberg warned, in a speech during a visit to Washington.
Russia's nuclear sabre-rattling is unjustified, destabilizing and dangerous
Jens Stoltenberg
In blunt language, the Nato chief delivered a scathing critique of Russia's behavior over the past year - including Moscow's armed intervention in Ukraine - and vowed the transatlantic alliance would redouble its commitment to "collective defense".
"Russia's recent use of nuclear rhetoric, exercises and operations are deeply troubling," he told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
The Russian president Vladimir Putin's "admission that he considered putting Russia's nuclear forces on alert while Russia was annexing Crimea is but one example," the former Norwegian prime minister said.
The Nato alliance was also concerned about Russia's compliance with nuclear arms agreements and stepped-up global flights by strategic bombers.
"Russia has also significantly increased the scale, number and range of pro-active flights by nuclear-capable bombers across much of the globe," Stoltenberg said.
The Russian bomber flights, he said, spanned "from Japan to Gibraltar, from Crete to California, and from the Baltic sea to the Black Sea."
Russia was failing to draw on the lessons of the Cold War, including that "when it comes to nuclear weapons, caution, predictability and transparency are vital," he said.
"Russia's nuclear sabre-rattling is unjustified, destabilizing and dangerous," he said.
Stoltenberg also criticized Russia for staging large snap military exercises, which he said was a violation of international agreements requiring governments to share information about planned drills in advance and to invite observers.
One short-notice exercise was used to move Russian forces to annex Crimea in February 2014 and others were employed to support separatists in eastern Ukraine and to stage a military build-up on Ukraine's border.
Russia is conducting yet another snap exercise near Ukraine this week that involves 250 aircraft and 700 pieces of heavy equipment, he said.
Dating back to Russia's intervention in Georgia in 2008, Moscow has sought to settle disputes through military force or the threat of military force, he said.
Russia has also started deploying its most modern weapons systems near the borders of Nato members in Eastern Europe, he said.
Citing Russia's actions in Ukraine and elsewhere, Stoltenberg said Moscow "is asserting its military power, stirring up aggressive nationalism, claiming the right to impose its will on its neighbors and grabbing land."
Nato's relations with Russia were at their lowest point in decades, he said.
"We are not back to the Cold War but we are far from a strategic partnership," he said. The alliance needed to adapt to challenges, he said, "that may be with us for a long time."
Nato will uphold its principles, including respect for the sovereignty of states and transparency in military activities, while also renewing its commitment to "collective" defense and deterrence, he said.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia plan to make a formal request to Nato to deploy a force of several thousand troops in their countries as a counter-weight to Russia. But it remains unclear if the alliance will approve the request.
The Nato chief's comments came a day after he held talks with President Barack Obama, who accused Russia of adopting an "increasingly aggressive posture."
Both Obama and Stoltenberg urged both sides in the Ukraine conflict to respect a shaky ceasefire accord.
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