IAEA experts to visit Iran's first nuclear power plant in 2013

“We have already received an invitation [from Iran] and next year our mission will be in Bushehr,” Miroslav Lipar told a news conference on Friday, RIA Novosti reported.

The initial construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant began in 1975 by German companies, but the work was halted following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

In 1995, Iran and Russia reached an agreement to complete the project, but power generation was delayed several times due to a number of technical and financial problems. Iran officially launched the Bushehr nuclear power plant on September 12, 2011.

The plant had been connected to the national power grid on September 3, supplying 60 megawatts of its 1,000-megawatt capacity.

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Fereydoun Abbasi said in March that the plant has reached the 75 percent of its nominal capacity of 1000 megawatts.

Iran and the Russian contractor of the project, Atomstroyexport, have assured the international community that the facility is fully compliant with high level safety standards and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The facility is also operating under the full supervision of the IAEA.