The Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran has resumed operations and has been reconnected to the national electricity grid after about two weeks of downtime due to a "technical fault," as reported by its head, Mahmoud Jafari, late Sunday and into Monday. Jafari, who is also the deputy head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, confirmed that the fault was "fixed thanks to the efforts of experts and workers at the plant." He noted that the 1,000-megawatt Bushehr plant has been reconnected to the national power grid, and "energy production has resumed as of Sunday after ensuring the plant's operational safety."
The Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, which oversees the facility, announced on June 20 the temporary shutdown due to what it described as a "technical fault." While the organization did not provide details about the nature of the fault, it clarified in a separate statement two days later that it concerned the "electrical generator" at the plant.
Bushehr is Iran's only nuclear power plant, situated along the Gulf coast in an area that frequently experiences seismic activity and tremors. In response to a question regarding the plant's shutdown at the time, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh confirmed that the step was planned in advance. He explained, "The plant will be out of the grid for a few days due to a technical fault or technical issues," adding, "This is a routine matter for nuclear plants and occurs once or twice a year."
Russia built the plant located on the Gulf coast, which is equipped with a 1,000-megawatt reactor and commenced operations in 2013. The shutdown came at a time when discussions were taking place in Vienna between Iran and major world powers regarding the agreement on Tehran's nuclear program, aiming to revive it after the United States withdrew in 2018.
