Islamic republic says it needs to meet growing demand for electricity
Iran has begun loading fuel into the nation’s first nuclear power plant in the southwestern city of Bushehr, part of a nuclear program that has been subject to four rounds of UN sanctions. The 1,000-MW plant was built with the help of Russia, who will run the facility by supplying its nuclear fuel and taking away the nuclear waste. Western powers fear that this is part of a programme aimed at developing nuclear weapons, but Tehran insists the nuclear development is for peaceful purposes only. The plant is expected to begin generating by early next year.