Russia is going to build nuclear reactor in Iraq

Elaf from London: While Israel disclosed documents about its attack on the Baghdad nuclear reactor on Wednesday marking its fortieth anniversary, a Russian official announced the direction of his country and Iraq to sign documents in the field of peaceful nuclear cooperation between them, Which could lead to the possibility that Moscow is building a new nuclear reactor in Iraq.

Alexei Likhachev, director general of the state-owned company “Rosatom”, said that Russia will sign documents with Iraq on cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear energy as soon as talks between them in this area are over.

Likhachev said in a statement to the Russian “Sputnik” news agency, followed by “Elaf”, about a possible deadline for the conclusion of official documents on this nuclear cooperation, that it would be “as soon as the talks are over, we will Will sign.”

For its part, the Russian company indicated that “Russia and Iraq are discussing the possibility of cooperation in various areas of peaceful nuclear, including energy projects, where work is underway to establish a regulatory framework for this partnership, And the full agenda for this collaboration is now being discussed.”

20 candidate sites to be reduced to two for the construction of a nuclear reactor
On the twentieth of last month, an Iraqi nuclear official announced that the National Committee on Nuclear Reactors had begun a study of 20 candidate sites to select two of them, one of them original and the other reserved, so that Israel Since then the country’s first nuclear reactor can be built. Four decades ago, a nuclear reactor in Baghdad was destroyed by planes.

The head of the Iraqi Commission for the Control of Radioactive Materials, Kamal Hussein Latif, said that the National Committee for Nuclear Reactors began a study of 20 sites identified for setting up nuclear reactors in the country, and then made use of internationally accepted scientific To reduce the launch methods to 5 sites. He explained that the selection process was carried out by two precise scientific methods through differential and weighting equations, indicating that the site selection report is nearing completion and sending it to the office of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazemi.

Steps to choose a nuclear reactor site
He said, “Selection relies on two phases with similar goals, but the accuracy is high to reduce the number of elected lands to more precisely determine the site for each phase, and then a final phase.” What happens is a security assessment.”

He explained in press statements following “Elaf” that “the first phase includes consideration of technical objectives and requirements for selection and evaluation, and issues of population distribution, which is the nearest population center 2.5 kilometers from the site, and The population in that area does not exceed 500 people per square kilometer, and the population center does not exceed 65,000 people, and is 30 kilometers from the site.”

Regarding the seismic nature of the area where the nuclear reactor would be built and the earthquake, the Iraqi official explained that the land should be free of tectonic plates, and that no more than 2 Richter earthquakes have been recorded during the past 50 years. An elevation, a mountain, a large plateau, or valley 20 km away from the site, as torrential streams of water can flow to the site from the height with rain. It is also preferable that the height of the site should not exceed 350 m above sea level for the calculation of boiling and evaporation of reactor water.

Agreements with Washington, Moscow and Paris
Latif disclosed understandings with three countries to build nuclear reactors in Iraq, France, the United States and Russia, in accordance with the guidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

And he indicated that “the French side looks forward to working with Iraq in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and we look forward to receiving its full approval so that we know the details of the cooperation, as in According to the terms of the MoU, which includes aid and assistance to Iraq in the fields of medical uses as well as energy production. He said the meetings were held with the competent officials of the US side, as this is being done by an authorized and high-level delegation from the committee and other Iraqi government agencies.
He added that “there is a program that will be presented to the government regarding the amount needed to build nuclear reactors, and if approved, will be announced to the media.”

The Iraqi Commission for the Control of Radioactive Sources clarified on November 3, 2020, that five countries are candidates for setting up a new nuclear reactor in Iraq, namely the United States, Russia, Argentina, South Korea and France, disclosing that It is learned that al-Kazemi had discussed the issue of reactor construction during his European visit last year. The nuclear deal with France, which indicated that the issue has become a matter of great interest to the French government.

Reviving Iraq’s Peaceful Nuclear Program
In 2017, Iraq enacted the Atomic Energy Commission legislation, which includes the revival of the nuclear program for peaceful purposes, after years of complete cessation of all activities related to peaceful nuclear energy.
This law came into force when Iraq announced that it had fulfilled its obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency with regard to the removal and removal of destroyed nuclear reactors in Baghdad and several provinces.

Israel reveals documents about the destruction of the Baghdad nuclear reactor

Today, marking the 40th anniversary of the so-called “opera opera” to destroy the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 2081, Israel revealed documents related to its airstrike on the famous “Osirak” Iraqi nuclear reactor on June 7. in that year.

These documents, from the archives of the Israeli military and revealed by the Israeli Defense Ministry, include hand drawings of the reactor that Tel Aviv feared that former regime leader Saddam Hussein might use to develop nuclear weapons, including reactor footage. Includes images showing the fighter. He explained that these images were part of intelligence data during the planning for “Operation Opera”.

Among these documents, the ministry published a report issued after the attack, including a written order from the army commander to carry out the operation, the government’s decision to begin planning the attack in 1980 and consultations on the date.
The documents also included a note saying that “Operation Opera”, originally scheduled for 31 May, would be held on 4 June between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in Sharm el-Egypt. Due to the meeting in Sheikh was postponed for a week. .

The documents also revealed recorded statements of military pilot and first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, who participated in “Operation Opera” and died in the 2003 crash of the American spacecraft “Columbia”.
Iraq agreed with France to build two nuclear reactors in Baghdad in March 1975, during the visit of then-French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac to Iraq, where he invited Iraqi Vice President Saddam Hussein to visit France to complete the agreement. Invited, what happened. In September of the same year Saddam, along with Chirac, visited two French nuclear reactors in the French city of Saclet, and the deal was completed.

In 1976, Iraq purchased a French nuclear reactor of the “Osiris” model, intended for peaceful nuclear research purposes. Iraqi and French experts maintained it, but Israel doubted Iraq’s intentions and stated that it had been used to build nuclear weapons, so on 7 June 1981, it ordered a squadron of F-16 aircraft escorted by aircraft. The F-15s destroyed two reactors located 17 km south-east of Baghdad.