Tehran, June 10 – Iran’s atomic energy chief has announced that Russia will build eight nuclear power plants in the country under an existing bilateral agreement, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), made the announcement on Monday during a visit by members of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee to the AEOI headquarters in Tehran, as reported by Xinhua.

Eslami specified that four of the planned reactors will be constructed in the southern province of Bushehr. He also provided lawmakers with updates on the ongoing development of units 2 and 3 at the current Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, noting that these units are being built by Iranian contractors.

Following the parliamentary visit, Eslami told reporters that the AEOI aims to triple the country’s nuclear power generation capacity as part of Iran’s broader strategy for energy expansion.

The Bushehr plant, completed by Russia in May 2011, remains Iran’s only operational nuclear facility and has played a key role in its civilian nuclear program. Cooperation with Russia’s state nuclear agency, Rosatom, has been a longstanding feature of the project.