Russia Withdraws Majority of Staff from Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant Amid Airstrike Fears
The evacuation comes amid heightened fears of potential airstrikes in southern Iran, where the facility is located.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Russia has withdrawn nearly all of its personnel from Iran’s only nuclear power facility, the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, citing growing security concerns linked to the ongoing conflict involving the United States and Israel.
The head of Russia’s state atomic energy agency, Alexei Likhachev, announced on Monday that a “final rotation” had begun at the site. He said 108 staff members had been evacuated, leaving behind only 20 personnel, including senior managers and specialists responsible for maintaining equipment safety.
The evacuation comes amid heightened fears of potential airstrikes in southern Iran, where the facility is located. Moscow has warned that any attack near the plant could trigger a “radiological disaster more devastating than Chernobyl disaster.”
The Bushehr plant, built with Russian assistance, operates a 1,000-megawatt reactor and plays a key role in Iran’s civilian nuclear energy program.
According to reports, the surrounding area has been targeted at least four times since the outbreak of hostilities. Earlier this month, one strike killed a security guard at the facility, though both Iranian state media and the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that the reactor itself was not damaged, based on satellite imagery analysis.