Rosatom Plans Return of Staff to Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant After Wartime Evacuation
Moscow-Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom expects to return personnel to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant within weeks after evacuating staff earlier this year following the outbreak of conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, Russian state media reported on Tuesday.
According to the RIA news agency, Rosatom said it was confident conditions would soon permit the redeployment of employees to the Bushehr facility, where the company is overseeing construction of two additional nuclear reactor units.
The company had withdrawn hundreds of Russian specialists from the site after military hostilities escalated at the end of February, when the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran during the broader regional conflict.
The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is Iran’s only operational nuclear power station and represents one of Moscow’s most significant energy cooperation projects with Tehran.
The status of nuclear infrastructure in Iran has drawn heightened international attention during the conflict, particularly after reports earlier this year of strikes near the Bushehr complex.
Russia previously condemned military action near the facility, warning of potential nuclear safety risks and broader regional consequences if civilian nuclear infrastructure were damaged.
Rosatom’s reported plans to resume staffing operations suggest Moscow believes the security situation around the plant has stabilized sufficiently to continue work on the expansion project.
Russia and Iran have maintained close cooperation in the nuclear energy sector for years despite Western sanctions and geopolitical tensions surrounding Tehran’s nuclear program.
