PAST the sign to the Place of Martyrdom, the slums on the outskirts of town and the anti-aircraft post, two gigantic domes rise above the desert.

This is Bushehr, Iran’s first nuclear reactor and a key part of Iran’s programme, which the US fears may be used to make bombs. Asadollah Saboury, the vicepresident of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, says that Russian fuel is ready and will go to Bushehr in a matter of months. The reactor, he insists, will be ready next year.

Officials say that Bushehr is 84 per cent complete. But up close there is little sign that the sprawling construction site will become a top nuclear facility soon. Building material and industrial debris litter the ground. In the reactor room Russian workers in green suits and white caps are furiously welding, hammering and using blowtorches in semi-darkness.

If the world is worried that Iran is about to make a nuclear bomb, it can rest assured. Not only are the protracted negotiations with Britain, France and Germany stalling Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but the builders appear to be well behind schedule.

Iran’s nuclear ambition is pitting Europe against America, and both against Russia. The EU has been putting pressure on Iran to drop its uraniumenrichment programme in return for economic incentives, but no amount of carrot- dangling will convince Tehran.

For Iranians surrounded by nuclear neighbours — Russia, India, Pakistan and arch-rival Israel — nuclear ambitions have become a question of national pride. It is one of the only matters that unites Iran’s reformists and hardliners.

At Bushehr there is no hiding the frustration that Iranians feel at the waiting game.

Mr Saboury said: “It’s a big challenge for management to keep motivated. It’s a tough environment to work in.”

The Russians, too, are getting fed up. Vyacheslav Malehonin, one of the general managers, shouting above the cacophony of clanging metal, buzzing machinery and drilling, said: “It’s annoying and we feel frustrated as the construction period has taken too long. I will be very glad for this country and for me when Bushehr can start running.” His biggest problem is nothing to do with politics. “It’s hot. Very hot. We Russians are not used to it,” he said, sweat pouring down his face.

With 4,000 Russians working at Bushehr — double the number of Iranians — the plant will produce 1,000MW of electricity when running at full capacity with enriched uranium fuel supplied by Russia.

Under a deal recently signed by the two countries, Iran has agreed to send back the spent fuel so that it cannot be reprocessed into bomb-grade material. Mr Saboury said that the International Atomic Energy Agency had implemented safeguards to ensure its return, including cameras now being fitted.

Russia’s contract to provide uranium fuel lasts for ten years but the deal covers only one nuclear plant, and Iran plans more. Iran says it wants at least ten plants like Bushehr and that it will produce its own enriched-uranium fuel, which Mr Saboury says will take only a matter of years once Iran ends its voluntary suspension of making its own fuel.

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