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Skoda to help Iran nuclear plant By Elizabeth Weinstein Fresh from the government's controversial decision to finish the Temelin nuclear power plant, the Czech Republic has once again evoked finger-wagging from the West following reports that a major Czech company will help complete a nuclear power plant in Iran. The Czech daily Mlada fronta Dnes reported May 19 that the Czech manufacturing firm Skoda Plzen is in final negotiations to provide both nuclear technology and consultants to the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran. Skoda Plzen spokesman Karel Samec confirmed that the company is negotiating with Iran, but denied that nuclear technology would be part of any deal. "We're talking about consulting work only," Samec said. "In no case will we be supplying nuclear components or technology to Iran." Following the Mlada fronta Dnes report, Czech government officials issued cautious statements. Michael Zantovsky, chairman of the Senate's foreign affairs, defense and security committee, called the information "alarming" and warned that cooperation with Iran always implies risks. Reactions from government ministries were subdued or absent altogether. Samec said negotiations for the deal are ongoing, and that they looked "very lucrative" for the company. Mlada fronta Dnes reported the deal to be worth an estimated $200 million (7 billion Kc). Bushehr's construction has had a rocky on-again, off-again history. German company Siemens started building the plant in 1975, but construction halted in 1979 after the shah of Iran was overthrown. Since then, Iran and Russia have worked together on constructing the plant's reactor units. The Russian-Iranian deal will reportedly bring in $1 billion for Russia. The United States has been a constant source of aggravation in the plant's completion. Fearing that any nuclear technology in the hands of Iran could lead to nuclear weapons proliferation, the U.S. government has threatened economic sanctions on any country that does more than $20 million in business with Iran. And despite Iranian President Mohammed Khatami's recent overtures to mend relations with the West through "cultural exchanges," the United States has maintained its rigid policy. U.S.-Iranian relations have been frozen since the 1979 hostage crisis, when Iranian students seized the American Embassy in Tehran and held 68 embassy employees captive for more than a year. Jocelyn Greene, the U.S. Embassy spokeswoman in Prague, said the U.S. government does not support Czech-Iranian nuclear cooperation. "We continue to talk with the Czech government about this issue as well with other countries," Greene said. The United States' disapproval of Skoda Plzen's negotiations with Iran follows severe criticism from European Union countries on the Czech government's decision to finish the nuclear power plant at Temelin, south Bohemia. Austria has been the main opponent of the decision and warned that it won't support the Czech Republic's bid for EU membership if the completion plan goes forward. Other countries, such as Germany, have downplayed the warnings, however. In a related move, Foreign Minister Jan Kavan announced that the Czech Republic is also considering participating in a tender for constructing a nuclear power plant in North Korea. Kavan said Czechs would participate in the project under the auspices of the Korean Energy Development Organization (KEDO), of which it has been a member since February.
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