The power plant is being built in the province of Khuzestan in southwestern Iran and, according to the plans, should be ready in eight years. The cost is estimated to amount to the equivalent of SEK 20 billion.
The plant, named Karun, will have a nuclear energy capacity of 300 megawatts, significantly less than Iran’s currently only nuclear power plant, Bushehr, which has a capacity of 1,000 megawatts. That facility was commissioned in 2011.
The announcement comes less than two weeks after Iran stated that it has now enriched uranium up to 60 percent in the facility in Fordo.
A spokesman described it as a response to the IAEA criticizing Iran for denying inspectors access to nuclear research sites.
The outside world has strong concerns about whether Iran wants to build nuclear weapons. A nuclear non-proliferation agreement between Iran and the rest of the world is currently on hold. The US withdrew in 2018, and since then efforts to renew the agreement have failed.