Would Iranian nuclear facilities actually be safer than the ones now in danger of meltdown in Japan? The regime is trying to put a positive spin on things:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that any earthquake at the Iranian nuclear plant at Bushehr would not cause damage like that suffered by Japan.
 

He said that this was because the safety measures at Bushehr were the most advanced in the world, unlike the old equipment at the Japanese facilities. 

The Iranian Bushehr plant has the most advanced safety measures? OK, then why did this happen?

Iran had said Saturday it would remove fuel rods from the reactor of its Bushehr power plant on Russia's recommendation, in a setback for its controversial nuclear programme.

Rosatom said in a statement that it had discovered internal damage in one of the pumps of the coolant system, blaming Iran's insistence that the long-delayed project incorporate outdated equipment dating back to the 1970s.

Note the situation's contrast with the Iranian regime's insistence that there's nothing to worry about.

In fact, the Iranians have been chafing at the bit for the Russians to get their plant up and running, but are quite willing to use decades-old components, increasing risk to save money. Indeed, things have gotten so bad that the Russians - who presumably have a high incentive to wrap up this project as quickly as possible so they can keep selling their technology - are raising alarm bells:

Russian experts are now so alarmed by Iran's apparent disregard for nuclear safety issues that they have asked the Kremlin to intervene.
 

In a report seen by the Daily Telegraph, the scientists accuse bosses at the plant of "disregard for human life", and say they that they "cannot guarantee safe activation of the reactor".

And it's not like Iran is immune to earthquakes. Just last year, another massive earthqake brought catastrophe to Iran... again:

At least seven people have been killed in a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that jolted southeast Iran yesterday, destroying remote villages and trapping hundreds.
 

The official Irna news agency said nine aftershocks had followed the quake, one of magnitude 5. "Seven people have been killed, and hundreds have been injured. Hundreds of people are still trapped under the rubble," Esmail Najjar, governor of Kerman province, the centre of the quake, told the semi-official Mehr agency.

An Iranian nuclear bomb threat may yet be a few years off. But an Iranian Chernobyl-type disaster could be a lot closer than we think.

Jonathon Narvey is the Editor of The Propagandist