Work at the Bushehr nuclear power plant construction site in Iran has been completely halted amid fighting in the Middle East, Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev said.
“Of course, work at the site in Iran has stopped... Because hostilities are being conducted against Iran, it’s difficult to predict how events will develop,” he said.
Likhachev noted that Bushehr is a priority project for Rosatom, so personnel will remain on site.
He said Rosatom had already evacuated employees’ children from Iran, as well as 94 surplus staff. There are currently 639 Russian specialists at the facility. They will be evacuated as operations pause and during lulls between strikes.
The Rosatom head also warned that a strike on Bushehr could trigger a regional-scale disaster.
He said Rosatom has advised Russian staff “not to leave their residential compounds” and “to avoid open areas.”
“Given the ongoing hostilities against Iran, it is difficult to forecast how events will unfold,” Likhachev said.
Likhachev also said 94 children of Russian employees, as well as all auxiliary personnel, have already been evacuated. An additional 150–200 people are slated for evacuation, TASS reported.
“The reactor is operating; it contains 72 tons of fuel. Another 210 tons is spent fuel. That’s a huge mass of materials. In the event of a strike, of course, it would be a regional-scale catastrophe,” Likhachev said, adding that “all parties to the conflict should understand that.”
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a large-scale joint military operation against Iran. In response, Tehran has carried out massive missile and drone strikes on Israel, as well as on U.S. military bases and facilities in Gulf countries.
Media reports say the Iranian city of Bushehr, home to the Bushehr nuclear power plant that Rosatom is building, has also come under attack.
On March 2, Iran said a nuclear facility in the city of Natanz was hit during U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.
At the same time, the IAEA has not confirmed damage to nuclear infrastructure.
