Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, has announced that Iran will construct two new nuclear power plants in the province of Bushehr, which already hosts the sole nuclear power plant in the country. During an interview on Iranian state television, Salehi said that the reactors to be established in Bushehr will cost around $10 billion, adding that they are in talks with the Chinese authorities on the re-design of the heavy-water reactor in the province of Arak and other nuclear projects as stipulated by the nuclear deal. Nuclear specialists from both Iran and China have come together and negotiated in both countries several times. According to Salehi, they addressed the issue thoroughly with Chinese and American authorities in Vienna and agreed to hold trilateral talks between Iran, China and the U.S. in Beijing. The heavy-water reactor in Arak constituted one of the sticking points during the nuclear talks. The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - the U.S., U.K., France, Russia and China plus Germany - known as the P5+1 - requested that the reactor be closed or turned into a light-water reactor, expressing concerns that it can produce plutonium to an extent that can be used in the production of an atomic bomb. With the nuclear deal that was signed in Vienna, the parties agreed on the restoration of the reactor in Arak.
