Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Iran’s first nuclear power plant, which was officially linked to the country’s electricity grid last month, was “temporarily disconnected” for safety tests, the government’s news website reported.

The Russian-built 1,000-megawatt Bushehr plant started generating electricity at 50 percent of its capacity on Oct. 7, a report in dolat.ir said. It was linked to the power grid on Sept. 12.

The plant will be disconnected from the national grid for “several weeks” until it can operate at full capacity by the end of 2011, Iranian officials said last month.

The U.S. and the European Union say Iran’s nuclear program may be a cover for the development of atomic weapons. Iran rejects the allegation, saying it needs nuclear power to meet the energy needs of its growing population.

--Editors: Shaji Mathew, Inal Ersan

To contact the reporter on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Dubai at lnasseri@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net