Iran is set to start construction of two new nuclear power plants in the "near future" with the assistance from Russia and China, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation announced on Tuesday.
"Construction of two 1000-MW power plants will start soon,'' Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted by the country's news agency FARS as saying, Fox News reported.
With sanctions now officially lifted following implementation of the landmark deal, the official said they intend to work with other countries to improve Iran's nuclear power network. "We will build two other small power plants, too in cooperation with China.''
He said a handful of European and Asian countries have expressed renewed interest in cooperating with Iran to help develop its nuclear industry. Apart from China, countries like Japan, South Korea and certain European states are ready for cooperation, he added, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
In December last year, Iran said it would begin construction of another new nuclear plant built in cooperation with Russia, which signed a contract to build two reactors in the country.
Iran is permitted under the deal to continue building nuclear reactors despite concerns from some experts that the technology could be used "to clandestinely continue weapons research."
On Tuesday, Iran's Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei told Sputnik that the lifting of sanctions offers a number of opportunities for renewed cooperation between the two countries.
"Recent events urge our countries to develop closer cooperation in many areas. While some countries only seek to create and maintain tensions, Iran and Russia should work together to stabilise the situation and to combat international terrorism,'' he said.
A state department official has told Free Beacon that this would not violate past agreements with Iran.
The latest announcements come three days after the Obama administration declared the official implementation of the nuclear agreement with Iran following a U.N. report that the country had fully complied in scaling back its nuclear programme.
The deal states that Iran is allowed to cap its nuclear activities in exchange for lifted sanctions. The West had long suspected Iran was using its nuclear programme as a cover to build a bomb. Iran denied the accusation.
Despite praising Iran's negotiators, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's top decision maker, meanwhile continued to express deep mistrust of the United States, FARS said.
Hours before the deal's implementation, four Americans jailed in Iran were freed in exchange for the release of seven Iranians. Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati, pastor Saeed Abedini and Nosratollah Khosravi, were flown to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany to be evaluated.
A fifth American, student Matthew Trevithnick, was also released, according to Fox News.
