State of nuclear installations across country unclear amid continued US-Israeli attacks, head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation says
Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom says Moscow has lost contact with the leadership of Iran’s nuclear sector amid US and Israeli attacks on the country.
On Tuesday, Rosatom’s Director General Alexei Likhachev said operations at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran had been halted by airstrikes in its vicinity, with some 639 Russian personnel remaining at the facility. The company is the prime contractor at the plant and is currently constructing its second and third power units.
Likhachev noted that while Rosatom continues to work with Iranian officials on the plant, the company has lost communication with the leadership of the country’s nuclear sector and the status of other nuclear installations in the country remains unclear.
“The station is obviously under threat, as explosions are already being heard kilometers away from the physical perimeter of the station. They are not targeting the station but the military installations there, but the threat is clearly growing” Likhachev said.
The situation at the power plant remains the same “in control” Head of Rosatum added. On Saturday, Rosatom said it had evacuated about 100 people from Iran, including non-essential personnel and children of employees. According to Likachev, the company plans to relocate an additional 150-200 personnel from the facility. “When the situation permits.”
Russia has played a key role in Iran’s civilian nuclear program, particularly at the Bushehr plant. Construction of the power plant was started by a West German company in the mid-1970s, but was suspended in the wake of the Islamic Revolution in 1980. The project was revived by Rosatom in the 1990s, with the Russian nuclear power giant commissioning the plant’s first power unit in the early 2010s.
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