Hundreds of Russians guarding Bushehr reactor MOSCOW - 

Russians are staffing a comprehensive security force to protect the Bushehr nuclear reactor from any internal or external attack. Iranian and Russian officials report that hundreds of Russian guards have been deployed in and around the light-water Bushehr reactor off the Gulf coast. The Russian guards work with Iranian guards stationed at the site. Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency chief Alexander Rumyantsev's, right and his counterpart Gholamreza Aghazadeh sign an agreement at the Bushehr nuclear power plant 1,000 kms south of Tehran on Feb. 27. 

Iranian officials confirmed the deployment of Russian military personnel and equipment and said Russia has also trained Iranian personnel to operate anti-aircraft batteries and identify and intercept unmanned aerial vehicles sent by the United States to monitor Iranian nuclear sites. The Russian personnel conduct both point and perimeter defense. Officials said the Russian guards man posts as far as 20 kilometers from Bushehr and conduct patrols as well operate anti-aircraft batteries. "We haven't had any incidents," Russian Security Service director Vladimir Khripkov said. "There are control posts at a distance of 20 kilometers from the nuclear power plant and special passes are needed to enter the construction site. They are being checked at several check points.

" Khripkov told the Moscow-based Itar-Tass news agency that so far nobody has tried to infiltrate the giant Bushehr complex. The facility has a sufficient number of Russian guards and equipment to protect the nuclear reactor from military attack or sabotage, he said. "There are guard posts around the plant, as well as anti-aircraft guns and motor cycle patrols," Khripkov said. Officials said that 2,180 Russians were employed for the Bushehr project, including about 1,000 engineers and technicians.

 The Russians live in a high-security residential complex called Pearl, located near the reactor. The Russian security personnel guard the residential complex, Bushehr personnel and their families. The Pearl estate consists of one-story cottages built in the mid-1970s by the original contractor of Bushehr, Germany's Siemens. On Feb. 27, Iran and Russia paved the way to complete Bushehr by signing an agreement for the delivery of nuclear fuel. 

The accord also contained a timetable and other details for the return to Russia of spent nuclear rods. Iran has agreed to pay for the return of the nuclear fuel. Officials said the fuel would be returned 10 years after delivery. "In 2006, Iran intends to put into operation the first power generating unit with the capacity of 1,000 megawatts," Russian Atomic Energy Agency director Alexander Rumyantsev told a news conference. "Iran plans to make nuclear facilities with the total capacity of 7,000 megawatts."