Iran prepares nuke power plant test run

TEHRAN, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- A trial run for Iran's first nuclear power plant is to start this week with Iranian and Russian officials in attendance, state media reported Sunday.

Iranian Atomic Energy Organization chief Reza Aqazadeh and Sergey Kiriyenko, director of the Rosatom State Atomic Corp. of Russia, will be on hand when the 1,000-megawatt power plant in the southern province of Bushehr begins its first trial run Wednesday, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Iranian officials said the long-awaited project was expected to become operational last fall but its construction was plagued by several setbacks, including difficulties in procuring its remaining equipment and the necessary uranium fuel.