Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Russia evacuates nearly all personnel from Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- Mass Evacuation: Russia has withdrawn nearly all its personnel from Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant, leaving only 20 essential staff members, due to the escalating threat of airstrikes in the region.
- Moscow warned that continued attacks near the facility could trigger a catastrophic radiological disaster worse than Chernobyl.
Russia has withdrawn the vast majority of its staff from Iran's sole operational nuclear power plant ‘Bushehr’, which was built and operated with Moscow's assistance, citing the escalating threat of airstrikes amid the ongoing US-'Israeli' war on Iran.
Final rotation and remaining staff
The head of Russia’s atomic energy agency, Alexei Likhachev, confirmed the mass departure on Monday. He detailed that 108 Russian personnel have been evacuated from the facility.
“We began the final rotation at the Bushehr station,” Likhachev stated to local media. He noted that only a skeleton crew of 20 individuals—consisting strictly of top-level managers and personnel crucial for maintaining equipment safety—currently remains at the station to oversee critical operations.
Fears of a radiological disaster
The rapid evacuation comes as the geopolitical conflict intensifies across the region. Moscow has repeatedly expressed severe concerns regarding the proximity of the fighting to the nuclear facility, officially warning that any direct or collateral attacks near the plant risk triggering a “radiological disaster more devastating than Chernobyl.”
Previous strikes near the facility
The Bushehr nuclear facility, which is equipped with a 1,000-megawatt reactor, is located in southern Iran.
Since the outbreak of the war, the immediate area surrounding the plant has been struck at least four times.
Earlier this month, a nearby attack resulted in the death of one person, identified as a facility guard.
However, both Iranian state media and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), following an analysis of satellite imagery of the site, confirmed that the plant itself sustained no structural damage during the incident.
