Bushehr

An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale was registered in the southern Iranian province of Bushehr, there is a nuclear power plant nearby, Reuters reported, referring to state television.

Russian and Iranian firms began work on Sept. 10 on two additional reactors at Iran's nuclear power plant on the Gulf coast at Bushehr, the project manager said.

The plant has been a bone of contention with Iran's Gulf Arab neighbors, even after a deal limiting its nuclear ambitions was signed with major powers in July last year.

Representatives of Russia and Iran signed Tuesday an agreement under which the Russian company Rosatom is to build eight units for Iranian nuclear plants.

Russia will also provide the fuel to be used at the reactors, the daily Vedomosti reports.

Four of the units will be installed into the Bushehr NPP the construction of which Rosatom completed last year.

Russia on Nov. 11 signed a deal with Iran to build two new nuclear reactors and agreed to expand the total number of Russian reactors in the country to eight, the state nuclear agency Rosatom said.

Iran said on Tuesday it expected to sign a deal with Russia in late August on the building of two new 1,000-megawatt nuclear  reactors in the Islamic Republic, potentially boosting its case that it is refining uranium for civilian energy, not atom bombs.