Tehran , Iran ( CNN ) -- Iran plans a ceremony to launch a controversial nuclear power plant Monday , the country 's government-backed Press TV reported , making it the first nation in the Middle East to put a civilian nuclear power plant online . The Bushehr nuclear plant was connected to the national energy grid on September 3 , the country 's Atomic Energy Organization announced the following day . Iran 's Foreign Minister , Ali Akbar Salehi , said Sunday that Iran was committed to nuclear non-proliferation and international atomic energy standards , Press TV reported . Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko , whose country helped build Bushehr and who appeared with Salehi , said the plant was built to international standards and under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency , according to Press TV . Days before the plant was connected to the grid , the IAEA cited increasing concerns that Iran may be developing nuclear weapons . The United Nations nuclear watchdog said in a report that Iran continues to defy U.N. resolutions aimed at curbing its nuclear program . Iran denies that it aims to build nuclear weapons . The Bushehr plant -- which is civilian , not military -- joined the national grid with a capacity of 60 megawatts , the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said on its website September 4 . The plant is expected to produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity when fully operational , about 2.5 percent of Iran 's current electricity consumption , according to the IAEA . Iran began the Bushehr plant in 1975 , before the revolution that created the current Islamic republic . The IAEA lists no other nuclear plants under construction in the region , though several other Middle Eastern countries have taken steps toward nuclear power . Journalist Shirzad Bozorgmehr contributed to this report .
Bushehr is the first civilian nuclear power plant operating in the Middle East . It was connected to the grid September 3 . An IAEA report cites increasing concerns Iran may be developing nuclear weapons . Bushehr is a civilian plant , not a nuclear one .