Iran begins building 4 more nuclear power plants

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran began construction on four more nuclear power plants in the country’s south, with expected total capacity of 5,000 megawatts, the official IRNA news agency reported Thursday. The country has one active nuclear power plant, which went online with help from Russia in 2011. The report said the four new plants are being built in the port town of Sirik on Iran’s east coast, and will take some nine years to complete. The UN’s nuclear watchdog said last year that Iran has increased the rate at which it is producing near-weapons grade uranium. The West has long suspected that Iran is acquiring nuclear weapons, but Iran denies it is seeking such weapons.