Iran To Build 16 Nuclear Power Plants, Starts Massive Drills

Local Editor

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran [AEOI] announced Saturday that the Tehran plans to construct 16 nuclear power plants.

"Following months of efforts, 16 new sites for nuclear power plants have been designated in coastal areas of the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, [southwestern province of] Khuzestan and northwestern part of the country," the AEOI said on Saturday.
It added the projects are in line with Iran's long-term plans to develop electricity generation via nuclear power plants and in accordance with standard and international regulations.

The organization also said that Iran has discovered more uranium deposits to further improve its position among countries possessing nuclear technology.
Following the new discoveries over the past 1.5 years, the country's mineral reserves and resources have increased 4.5 times compared to 35 years ago.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps [IRGC] Ground Force started massive drills, codenamed Payambar-e Azam 8 [The Great Prophet 8], which include exercising different defense tactics in Southern Iran.

Speaking to reporters, Spokesman of the drills General Sarkheili said at the first stage the participating IRGC units started "stable regional defense" after they were joined by Basij [volunteer] units.
"In this phase, units entered the battlefield backed by aerial and artillery firepower and intelligence support by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in a bid to fulfill the specified objectives and bring the targets under direct fire," Sarkheili stated.
He also added that the IRGC's electronic warfare systems successfully identified and thwarted the hypothetical enemy's electronic jamming campaign at this phase of the drills.

He further stated that "examining modern and advanced equipment is considered as another objective of the maneuver."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org