Iran tests first nuclear plant

Iran was testing its long-delayed first nuclear power plant on Wednesday as it pressed ahead with its controversial atomic drive despite international sanctions. The head of the Russian nuclear agency Sergei Kiriyenko, who is visiting Iran for the so-called pre-commissioning phase, said construction of the Russian-built plant at the Gulf port of Bushehr was now complete. “The construction stage of the nuclear power plant is over, we are now in the pre-commissioning stage, which is a combination of complex procedures," Sergei Kiriyenko told reporters. Iran is carrying out comprehensive tests of various equipment at the 1,000-megawatt plant, which officials said involve "virtual fuel," not nuclear fuel rods.