Plan to Produce Nuclear Propulsion Systems

The commander of Iranian Navy said the force has placed the production of nuclear propulsion systems on its agenda. Speaking in a televised interview on Wednesday night, Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi also said one of the important tools to carry out the task of defending the country is employing submarines equipped with diesel- or nuclear-powered propulsion systems, Tasnim News Agency reported. Khanzadi said the nuclear propulsion systems' advantage over diesel-fueled ones is that they increase the vessels' ability to remain submerged and increase the country's deterrent power. "Given that in recent years, there have been good advances in the country's nuclear science, the production of nuclear propulsion [systems] … is on the agenda of the Navy," he said.  In Dec. 2016, President Hassan Rouhani issued a directive, ordering the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to draw up plans to design and manufacture nuclear propulsion devices to be used in marine transport.