TEHERAN - Iran and Russia on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the construction of small modular reactors (SMRs) in Iran.

The MoU was signed between Mohammad Eslami, chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), and Alexey Likhachev, head of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, in Moscow, according to a statement released on the AEOI's website.

The statement said the MoU aims to expand cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy to promote sustainable development, strengthen energy security and advance technology, in compliance with the two countries' national regulations and international obligations.

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It added that under the MoU, the two sides would prepare and sign contracts for designing and constructing nuclear power plants based on SMRs in the future.

Heading a delegation, Eslami arrived in Moscow on Monday to meet Russian officials and participate in the World Atomic Week forum, which runs from Sept 25 to 28.

Upon his arrival, Eslami said that within the framework of a contract between Teheran and Moscow, the latter is expected to build eight nuclear power plants in Iran, including four in the southern province of Bushehr, as the country seeks to generate 20,000 megawatts of electricity in the coming years.