Baku, Azerbaijan, July 23
By Khalid Kazimov – Trend:
Iran plans to join the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) megaproject, the country’s top atomic official said.
Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said the preliminary works were done for Iran to join ITER, IRNA news agency reported July 23.
He said Iran is the only Middle Eastern country to join the ITER project.
ITER is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject, which will be the world's largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment.
The ITER project is aimed at the transition from experimental studies of plasma physics to full-scale electricity-producing fusion power stations. The ITER fusion reactor is designed to produce 500 megawatts of output power for several seconds while needing 50 megawatts to operate. The reactor aims to demonstrate the principle of producing more energy from the fusion process than is used to initiate it, something that has not been achieved in any fusion reactor.
Salehi’s remarks come one year after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the nuclear deal, was reached between Tehran and the world’s major powers on July 14, 2015.
As a result of the implementation of the JCPOA, some parts of international sanctions on the Islamic Republic were lifted.