The nuclear risk surrounding Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is escalating at an alarming rate, with Rosatom Chief Executive Alexey Likhachev warning on Saturday that the probability of a catastrophic nuclear incident is growing with each passing day, following a confirmed strike on the facility’s physical protection circuit that claimed the life of at least one plant employee.
“Unfortunately, events are developing according to the most undesirable forecast. As they say, our bad premonitions did not deceive us. In general, the identification of the conflict and the escalation around the Persian Gulf lead to corresponding consequences,” Likhachev told reporters. “Today at about 7:20 a.m. Moscow time [4:20 GMT], a blow was actually struck to the physical protection circuit of the station, and the first death of an employee was recorded.”
The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) confirmed earlier on Saturday that the Bushehr NPP site had come under fire from the United States and Israel, resulting in the death of one of its employees. Likhachev stated that it remains unclear whether the incident was accidental or constituted a deliberate attack, though the consequences on the ground are unambiguous.
“Unfortunately, the likelihood of a possible nuclear incident causing damage is only increasing day by day — unfortunately, they are confirmed by the events of today,” the Rosatom CEO said, characterising the situation as one that could precipitate a regional-scale catastrophe with long-term consequences for the broader Persian Gulf region and beyond.
Approximately 20 minutes after the strike, Rosatom initiated the main phase of evacuation of its 198 Russian specialists stationed at the plant. The personnel are being transported by bus across nearly the entirety of Iranian territory, a journey expected to take between two-and-a-half and three days. Iran has taken extensive measures to secure the evacuation corridor, while coordination is simultaneously underway with Armenian authorities. Upon completing the overland transit, the evacuated personnel are expected to depart from Yerevan’s international airport.
Likhachev confirmed that Russian diplomatic and security services have been notified and are operating in close coordination. “Of course, we have informed the relevant services of Israel and the United States. We are very grateful to our Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Defense, and our special services for this cooperation. Here we work as a single mechanism, we support each other,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is personally monitoring the unfolding situation at Bushehr, with particular attention directed at both the operational status of the plant and the safety of Russian nationals on site, according to Likhachev.
The strikes on an active civilian nuclear facility represent a grave breach of international norms governing the protection of nuclear infrastructure. Provocations of this nature at an operating plant risk triggering radiological consequences that would be indiscriminate in their reach, threatening not only Iran but neighbouring states across the Persian Gulf and Central Asia. The international community has yet to issue a unified condemnation of the attacks.
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