Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom announced that Russia and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of small nuclear power plants in Iran. Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) head Mohammad Eslami earlier told Iranian state media that Iran plans to build eight nuclear power plants.
News Briefs
September 24, 2025
-- Reuters
September 21, 2025
Iran's MAPNA Group exported its MGT-70 gas turbine to Russia. The MGT-70 is a reverse-engineered version of the Siemens V94.2 turbine and is intended to be a replacement for Russia's aging Siemens turbines, which Western sanctions have made difficult for Russia to obtain. Sanctions and export restrictions have led Russia to seek turbines from MAPNA Group, Chinese company Harbin Electric, and Russia's own United Engine Corporation. MAPNA Group has also exported MGT-70 turbines to Iraq and Syria. The turbines are primarily used in the energy industry.
-- PressTV
September 11, 2025
The United States filed a civil forfeiture action to seize approximately USD $584,741 in cryptocurrency (USDT/Tether) alleged to belong to Iranian national Mohammad Abedininajafabadi (Mohammad Abedini) and his company San’at Danesh Rahpooyan Aflak Co. (SDRA). Abedini was charged in December 2024 with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization for supplying navigation systems to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force for use in drones linked to the January 2024 “Tower 22” attack on U.S. service members in Jordan. He was detained in Italy but was subsequently released and is believed to be in Iran. The seized funds were held in an unhosted cryptocurrency wallet alleged to be controlled by Abedini.
-- U.S. Department of Justice
September 3, 2025
Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% purity had increased to an estimated 440.9 kilograms as of June 13, the first full day of Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear program, according to a report shared by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with member states. The quantity of 60% enriched uranium had increased by 32.3 kilograms since the IAEA's previous report in May.
-- Associated Press
August 28, 2025
France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (the E3) notified the United Nations Security Council that they were triggering the process known as the "snapback mechanism" to reimpose U.N. sanctions on Iran. The notification initiates a 30-day process which would result in the reentry into force of U.N. sanctions imposed before 2015 on Iran's financial, banking, energy, and defense sectors. The E3 had been in talks with Iran since mid-June on a negotiated settlement to the Iranian nuclear issue. The letter sent by E3 foreign ministers to the Security Council indicated that the E3 might be willing to defer the renewed sanctions if Iran provides nuclear-related commitments prior to the end of September.
-- Reuters
August 27, 2025
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors returned to Iran for the first time after being expelled following Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear program in June. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that the inspectors would observe the changing of fuel at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. Araqchi also said that Iran had not yet reached an agreement with the IAEA for additional inspections.
-- Reuters
August 12, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised interview that Iran retained 400 kilograms of enriched uranium which was not destroyed during Israeli and U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear sites in June. Netanyahu claimed that Iran was no longer in a position to advance its nuclear program as a result of the strikes.
-- i24 News
August 9, 2025
Iran sent its nuclear scientists into hiding following its June war with Israel, according to an unnamed Iranian official. The scientists were moved to secure locations in Tehran and other cities in northern Iran. Israeli authorities allegedly maintain a list of approximately 100 surviving scientists and have implied that additional assassinations could take place if the scientists continue their work. Israel killed more than 30 Iranian researchers during the war.
-- The Telegraph
August 6, 2025
Iran executed Roozbeh Vadi, a nuclear scientist accused of spying for Israel. Vadi was a graduate of Amir Kabir University, and according to the university's alumni network he was working at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI)'s Research Institute for Nuclear Science. Iran's Ministry of Intelligence claimed that it has arrested 20 individuals connected to Israel. Human rights groups said that Iran has executed 10 people accused of spying for Israel since the brief war between the two countries in June.
-- New York Times
August 5, 2025
A delegation of Iranian nuclear scientists and procurement agents traveled to Moscow in August 2024 to visit Russian companies that produce dual-use technologies, according to documents reviewed by FT. The delegation was led by Ali Kalvand, the director of Tehran-based consulting firm DamavandTec, and its members included scientists and businessmen linked to Iran's Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND). The delegation visited two companies owned by a Russian nuclear scientist and vacuum technology expert that produce klystrons and electron accelerators, which have applications in nuclear weapons testing. Kalvand had earlier written to a Russian nuclear isotope supplier to request radioactive isotope samples including tritium, which has applications in nuclear implosion testing and boosting the yield of nuclear warheads.
-- Financial Times