Bushehr nuclear facility now operational, says Iranian official

According to Iran's deputy nuclear chief, Mohammad Ahmadian, Iran's Bushehr reactor has been brought to "full capacity of 1,000 megawatts." Last year, the reactor was operated for the first time at a minimum capacity.

The Islamic republic built the nuclear power plant in the southern port city with Russian aid. Iran's nuclear progression has been viewed as part of an attempt to become a technological leader among Muslim nations; other efforts include Iran's space program and its long-range missile development. Iran also runs smaller research sites and is supposedly building another power reactor.

Several Western leaders, most prominently from Israel and the U.S. believe the Bushehr plant is part of an Iranian plan to attain nuclear weapons. Iran has denied this, saying its nuclear development is done for peaceful purposes alone.

The Bushehr project dates back to 1974, when Iran's U.S.-backed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi contracted with the German company Siemens to build the reactor. The company withdrew from the project after the ayatollahs' totalitarian regime was brought to power during Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

In 1992, Iran signed a $1 billion deal with Russia to complete the project, with Russia resuming work in 1995.

Bushehr was originally scheduled to become operational in July 1999 but it was repeatedly postponed over technical glitches and financial disputes.

The reactor finally went into operation last summer at a minimum capacity, and was scheduled to undergo further testing before it became fully operational.

In August, the International Atomic Energy Agency released a report showing a significant expansion of Iranian enrichment activities. The report said that Iran has more than doubled the number of centrifuges at the underground facility at Fordo, though most of the centrifuges were not fully operational yet.

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