Russia and Iran have made a power alliance against the West with their nuclear deal on Tuesday as well as economic gains, say experts.
Russia will build two new nuclear power plants in Iran in the Bushehr province, according to the agreement signed by Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Agency of Iran, and Sergey Kiriyenko, Russia’s national nuclear corporation Rosatom’s president in Moscow on Tuesday.
The deal, which is “a milestone for relations between the two countries” according to Salehi, also opens the way for more nuclear plants to be built in the future.
While Russia has had sanctions imposed by western countries because of its policies in Ukraine, Iran continues talks with the P5+1 countries - China, France, U.K., U.S., Russia and Germany - on its nuclear program. The deadline for the formal negotiations between Iran and western nations is Nov. 24.
“The timing of the agreement is highly important,” Hasan Selim Ozertem, coordinator of the Energy Security Center at the International Strategic Research Organization in Turkey told The Anadolu Agency, adding that “a window of opportunity is opened for Iran to show it can use nuclear power for peaceful means.”
The recently signed agreement strengthens Russia’s impact on the Iranian nuclear market while it allows Iran to take a step forward in international acceptance of its nuclear program.
Western countries maintain that Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons in its uranium enrichment program.
According to the agreement, Russia will supply the nuclear fuel to the plants and the waste will be sent back to Russia for regeneration and storage. The International Atomic Energy Agency will monitor the plants in accordance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
“ Russia wants to use itsnuclear technology as an investment tool in Iran while western companies seek opportunities to invest in the natural gas sector,” said Ozertem. He added that Russia will gain regardless of whether the talks between Iran and the P5+1 countries are positive or not.
"If Iran and P5+1 reach an agreement, Russia will gain an export tool and if vice versa, Russia might show the West that it can defuse the effect of sanctions," he said.
Nursin Atesoglu Guney, a professor at the political science and international relations department at Yildiz Technical University, said the current situation urges the P5+1 countries on the UN Security Council to be more flexible and concessive towards Tehran.
“Agreement on some serious topics could not be reached in the talks between P5+1 and Iran,” said Guney, and added, “but this situation will not make Barack Obama retreat from the idea of making an agreement on nuclear power with Iran and denouncing it as a success story to the international public.”