<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Iran has begun the construction of a new nuclear plant in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, the country's atomic energy agency said Saturday.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, announced in televised remarks the start of construction of the 300-megawatt Karun power plant in the Darkhovin district of Khuzestan.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Construction of the plant will take seven years and is expected to cost between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, he added on state television.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Eslami said the power plant was "first set to be constructed by a French company", but that the firm had backed out of its "commitments" after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>