Iran's nuclear chief in Moscow to sign power plants deal as UN ponders sanctions

MOSCOW (Reuters) -The head of Iran's atomic energy organisation, Mohammad Eslami, has arrived in Moscow for talks, Iranian state-run media said on Monday, as the U.N. considers whether to reimpose sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme.

On Friday, the 15-member U.N. Security Council rejected a draft resolution to permanently lift sanctions on Tehran, a move backed by Russia and China, and who oppose efforts by Britain, France and Germany to reimpose U.N. sanctions.

The European nations accuse Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers that aimed to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies having any such intention and Russia says it supports Tehran's right to peaceful nuclear energy.

Eslami, who is also Iran's vice president, told Iranian state media that bilateral cooperation agreements would be signed during his visit to Russia, including a plan to construct eight nuclear power plants as Tehran seeks to reach 20 GW of nuclear energy capacity by 2040.

“Contract negotiations have taken place and with the signing of the agreement this week, we will enter the operational steps,” Eslami said.

Iran, which suffers from electricity shortages during high-demand months, only has one operating nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr which was built by Russia and has a capacity of around 1 GW.

Britain, France and Germany have offered to delay reinstating sanctions for up to six months - to allow space for talks on a long-term deal on Tehran's nuclear program - if Iran restores access for U.N. nuclear inspectors, addresses concerns about its stock of enriched uranium, and engages in talks with the United States.

Any delay on reimposing sanctions would require a Security Council resolution. If a deal on an extension can't be reached by the end of September 27, then all U.N. sanctions will be reimposed.

(Reporting by Marina Boborova and Dubai Newsroom; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva; Editing by Mark Trevelyan, Alexandra Hudson)