The Associated Press (AP) reported last week that Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant declared an emergency shutdown, news that was confirmed on a local TV talk show by a source from the state-run electric company, Tavanir, Gholamali Rakhshanimehr.
The shutdown is a first for the power plant, which fueled by uranium produced in Russia and was to cease operations for three to four days.
The plant is monitored by the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency, AP reported. Under the agreement, Iran is required to “send spent fuel rods from the reactor back to Russia as a nuclear nonproliferation measure.”
It’s the first time the region has reported an emergency shutdown of a nuclear power plant in the area. Though the shutdown has been attributed to potential earthquakes, which are common in the area, none have been reported in the region recently.
According to AP, the shutdown is also suspected of being related to high-ranking diplomats’ communication with Iran and other global partners to reinstate Iran nuclear development containment, an agreement that was drafted in 2015 that included the U.S., but later ignored by the Trump administration.
A final round of talks between the European Union, Russia, China, Germany, France, Britain and Iran, was held last month. During the meeting, various diplomats voiced concerns about the potential harm Iran’s newly elected president, Ebrahim Raisi, could bring to the nuclear deal.
Bushehr began its operations in 2011 with help from Russia. In November 2014, Iran and Russia signed an agreement to build two new nuclear reactors at the Bushehr site, with an option of six more at other sites later. Construction for the plant officially began in mid-March 2017.
The only plant of its kind in the region, Bushehr is located approximately 750 miles south of Tehran and 11 miles southeast of the city of Bushehr, between the fishing villages of Halileh and Bandargeh along the Persian Gulf.