Newsletters
Russia began evacuating 198 workers from Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant on Saturday after a projectile struck near the facility, according to the head of Russia's state nuclear company Rosatom.
Iranian officials and media reported the site had been hit multiple times and warned of risks to Iran and the wider Gulf region.
Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev said the evacuation started as planned on Saturday morning and that buses left the Bushehr station for the Iranian-Armenian border about 20 minutes after the strike near the plant, according to Russian state media reports.
The evacuation followed earlier reports that a projectile hit near the perimeter of the Bushehr facility, killing a security guard and damaging a building, while the main parts of the plant were not believed to have been damaged.
Likhachev said Rosatom had launched the main phase of the evacuation on Saturday.
"As planned, we began the main phase of the evacuation today. About 20 minutes after that ill-fated strike, buses set off from Bushehr station towards the Iranian-Armenian border. 198 people, to be precise—this is the largest evacuation," he was quoted as saying by TASS.
Interfax also reported Likhachev as saying that an evacuation began on Saturday morning and that 198 people had left the site.
It was not immediately clear whether the evacuation was directly linked to the projectile strike near the plant's perimeter.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X that the Bushehr facility had been struck four times by the United States and Israel.
He also said attacks on Iran's petrochemical facilities showed what he described as the real objectives of the strikes.
Araghchi criticized what he described as a lack of concern for the safety of Bushehr, especially when compared with international attention given to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Iranian state media also reported that Bushehr, Iran's only functioning nuclear power plant, had been targeted multiple times.
Iranian state media agency Tasnim said the perimeter of the Bushehr nuclear power plant was struck by a projectile.
Earlier reporting said an airstrike hit near the plant's perimeter, killing a security guard. The strike damaged a building but was not believed to have damaged the main parts of the facility.
According to previous statements cited in the reports, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said a "hostile projectile" struck the site on March 17, with no casualties and no damage to the facility.
On March 24, the organization said a projectile again hit the grounds of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, describing it as a "renewed attack" by what it called the "American-Israeli enemy." It said no part of the facility was affected and no injuries were reported.
On March 27, the organization again blamed Israel and the United States after the plant was struck by a projectile late at night, saying there were no casualties, material damage or technical disruptions.
The latest reports said the evacuation of 198 workers began on Saturday after a projectile struck near the facility, as Iranian officials renewed warnings over the risks surrounding repeated reported strikes on Bushehr.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
