Iran FM Invites US Firms to Bid on Nuclear Plant Projects

Iran Eager to Get Competitive Bids From 'High Standard' Firms

With Iran’s first nuclear power plant at Bushehr about to reach a serious milestone on the path to electricity generation, Iran is looking to expand its energy generation program with more such plants, officials say.

To that end Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced today that they are inviting US companies to take part in the bidding process, adding that they “are ready to cooperate with any company from any country which is capable of building such facilities with high standard.

The Bushehr plant is being constructed by a Russian company, and while Russia would likely have the inside track on any future projects it is surprising to hear that Iran would even consider US companies at a time when US officials continue to openly talk of invading Iran.

Iran’s development has left it with a growing energy problem, as power generation from its oil industry cuts into its ability to export. The nation has been expanding its enrichment program to allow it to support a number of nuclear power plants with domestic fuel supplies. The US has demanded that Iran end its enrichment and buy all its fuel on the international market.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.