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Russian Atomic Energy Minister in Iran
Aired December 26, 2002 - 14:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Elsewhere on the nuclear front, Russia's atomic energy minister has been in Tehran meeting with his Iranian counterpart. They have signed a deal to speed up construction of a nuclear power plant, one that the U.S. fears would help Iran develop nuclear weapons.
Jill Dougherty now, our Moscow bureau chief, is live with more on that -- Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Well, at issue, Kyra, is the $800 million Bushehr nuclear power plant that Russia has been helping Iran to construct. Ultimately, when it's finished, it will be producing 100 -- I mean, 1,000 megawatts of electricity.
And here, the United States says that the technology that Russia is providing could be used to build nuclear weapons. Iran and Russia both say no, that is not the case, that this is purely for peaceful purposes, and that they are not violating any international laws or international agreements.
Now, that's the Bushehr plant. There is also another issue, very hot one going on with Iran, and that is two more facilities that have been built in the western part of Iran. The United States believes that those two could be used to build nuclear weapons. But Russia says, No. 1, it has nothing to do with the construction of those two facilities, and No. 2, they say Iran will be opening next year those facilities to international inspectors -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk more about the dual use issue, and the fact that the U.S. is saying hey, this could advance Iran's alleged weapons program. Is there any type of evidence that exists to support this, or is this just a really strong fear at this point?
DOUGHERTY: Well, Kyra, you know, a lot of these things are very hard to pin down. I've spoken with U.S. officials who said precisely that, that when you provide technology that could be used for peaceful purposes and then could be used for, you know, creating bombs, sometimes it's very hard to say precisely how it's being used.
But it would appear that Bushehr is one thing, but these two other facilities, the U.S. seems to be saying, and they have some photographs, spy satellite photographs, to prove it, they say, that would appear to underscore their belief that this could be used to ultimately create weapons.
PHILLIPS: Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty. Thanks, Jill.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 26, 2002 - 14:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Elsewhere on the nuclear front, Russia's atomic energy minister has been in Tehran meeting with his Iranian counterpart. They have signed a deal to speed up construction of a nuclear power plant, one that the U.S. fears would help Iran develop nuclear weapons.
Jill Dougherty now, our Moscow bureau chief, is live with more on that -- Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Well, at issue, Kyra, is the $800 million Bushehr nuclear power plant that Russia has been helping Iran to construct. Ultimately, when it's finished, it will be producing 100 -- I mean, 1,000 megawatts of electricity.
And here, the United States says that the technology that Russia is providing could be used to build nuclear weapons. Iran and Russia both say no, that is not the case, that this is purely for peaceful purposes, and that they are not violating any international laws or international agreements.
Now, that's the Bushehr plant. There is also another issue, very hot one going on with Iran, and that is two more facilities that have been built in the western part of Iran. The United States believes that those two could be used to build nuclear weapons. But Russia says, No. 1, it has nothing to do with the construction of those two facilities, and No. 2, they say Iran will be opening next year those facilities to international inspectors -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk more about the dual use issue, and the fact that the U.S. is saying hey, this could advance Iran's alleged weapons program. Is there any type of evidence that exists to support this, or is this just a really strong fear at this point?
DOUGHERTY: Well, Kyra, you know, a lot of these things are very hard to pin down. I've spoken with U.S. officials who said precisely that, that when you provide technology that could be used for peaceful purposes and then could be used for, you know, creating bombs, sometimes it's very hard to say precisely how it's being used.
But it would appear that Bushehr is one thing, but these two other facilities, the U.S. seems to be saying, and they have some photographs, spy satellite photographs, to prove it, they say, that would appear to underscore their belief that this could be used to ultimately create weapons.
PHILLIPS: Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty. Thanks, Jill.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
