In 2018, then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran Nuclear Deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and has since remained a staunch critic of the agreement. The potential construction of additional nuclear power plants in Iran is focused on energy and electricity production, not weapons development.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a broad cooperation pact Friday as their countries deepened their partnership in the face of stinging Western sanctions.