Iran to test first nuclear power plant

Iran is to test its much-delayed first nuclear power plant today as the Islamic republic presses on with its atomic drive despite international sanctions.

The head of the Russian nuclear agency Sergei Kiriyenko, who is visiting Iran for the so-called pre-commissioning, said construction of the plant at the Gulf port of Bushehr was now complete.

"The construction stage of the nuclear power plant is over, we are now in the pre-commissioning stage, which is a combination of complex procedures," Kiriyenko told reporters in Bushehr.

Iran and Russia will also announce a date for the plant to go operational, the official IRNA news agency reported yesterday.

The test operation at the 1,000-megawatt plant will involve "virtual fuel", not nuclear fuel rods, officials have said.

Russia took over construction at Bushehr in 1994 but completion of the plant was delayed for a number of reasons, particularly Western accusations that Iran's nuclear programme is cover for a weapons drive.