Rosatom has been evacuating its employees since the outbreak of the US and Israel's war with Iran. The head of Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, stated that the events near the plant are developing in accordance with the worst-case scenario.
The evacuation was planned
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported earlier that one of the missiles that fell near the Bushehr plant killed a security worker, and one of the buildings was damaged by shrapnel and a shock wave. Likhachev, quoted by Russian media, confirmed that the killed employee was an Iranian citizen. Saturday's evacuation, Reuters noted, was planned before this attack.
Until the situation in Iran stabilizes, Rosatom plans to temporarily reduce the number of plant employees to a minimum. The company that built the first block of Iran's only nuclear power plant in Bushehr has already evacuated some of its staff through Armenia.
Last fall, Iran announced it had signed a $25 billion deal with Rosatom to build four 5-gigawatt nuclear units elsewhere in the country's southeast. The parties also signed a memorandum on the development of small nuclear power plants in Iran.
Airstrikes by Israeli and US forces on Iran have been ongoing since February 28. Tehran responds by attacking Israel and several Persian Gulf countries, hitting both American bases and civilian facilities located there.
