The Bushehr nuclear power station being built by Russia in Iran should be ready to start operating by the end of the year and start test operations in mid-2006, the director of Russia's atomic energy agency said Tuesday.
Test runs at the station are planned to start in June 2006, Alexander Rumyantsev told reporters.
He added that Russia's cooperation with Iran, which has raised hackles in the United States, was set to expand under the Islamic republic's president-elect Mahmood Ahmadinejad.
"We are not violating any norms or international commitments by our cooperation with Iran," Rumyantsev told journalists. "The new Iranian president made clear in his first statements that it is possible to further develop cooperation with Russia."
Russia's nuclear cooperation with Iran has been frowned on by Washington, which believes that the technology could be put to military use.
An Iranian parliamentary delegation that visited Moscow last week said that Russia could be chosen to help build up to 20 more nuclear power stations in Iran.
