Russia Will Fund New Nuclear Plants In Iran

On Friday, the Oil Minister of Iran announced that Russia would fund the construction of a new nuclear plant in Iran.

“Iran and Russia will continue their cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy and the construction of new nuclear energy facilities and the completion of phases two and three of the Bushehr power plant using Moscow’s credit line,” Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said. “Multilateral cooperation between Iran and Russia through membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, and OPEC+ has led to the provision of common interests, peace, stability, and international security, and I am confident that this cooperation will deepen.”

“Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law officially ratifying a 20-year strategic partnership agreement with Tehran, further deepening their military cooperation,” the Algemeiner reported.

In January, Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran, which stated, “The Contracting Parties shall confirm their commitment to develop military-technical cooperation.”

In 2007, Russia sent 80 tons of uranium fuel to Iran to help the Islamist dictatorship build a nuclear reactor in Bushehr. Russia stood to gain $1 billion, since the plant was to be constructed by the Russian state-owned Atomstroyexport.

Russia’s ties with the terrorist group Hamas, which acts as a proxy for Iran, run deep; roughly two weeks after the Hamas massacre of more than 1,200 people in Israel in October 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported that a Moscow-based crypto exchange, Garantex, acted as a conduit for illicit funds for Palestinian terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre to finance their operations. “Digital wallets controlled by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which joined Hamas in the attacks, received a portion of $93 million via Garantex, according to analysis by researcher Elliptic, which said Hamas also used a similar financing strategy.”

“Russia has been actively engaged in expanding security and military ties with the Houthis, including providing weapons to the organization,” The Jamestown Foundation reported in November 2024. “Media reports indicate that Russian intelligence officers were spotted in the Houthis-held territory, and Moscow has even considered sending significant military support to the Iran-backed militia (Iran International, September 25).”

“The Iran Freedom and Counterproliferation Act of 2013 prohibits the ‘sale, supply or transfer of certain materials to and from Iran related to the regime’s nuclear, military, and ballistic missile programs and allows the president to submit sanctions waivers every 180 days containing exemptions based on national security reasons,” the Foundation for Defense of Democracies reported in January. “Absent a waiver, the president is obliged to sanction foreign individuals and financial institutions that violate the act.”

The Obama administration issued waivers for certain Russian nuclear work in Iran as part of the 2015 nuclear deal, and upon taking office, the first Trump administration ended U.S. participation in the agreement and the waivers. The Biden administration restored the waivers soon after taking office to help restart Iran talks.