Rosatom CEO says Bushehr nuclear plant remains operational and calm despite regional tensions
Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom confirmed that Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant continues to operate normally and that no attacks have been observed near the facility in recent days. In an interview with the corporate newspaper Strana Rosatom, CEO Aleksey Likhachev said the plant’s sole active reactor – Unit 1 – is running at full capacity and the overall situation around the site is “generally calm.”
The Bushehr plant, the only operating nuclear power station in Iran, is a Russian‑built facility that supplies a significant share of the country’s electricity. It houses substantial stocks of nuclear fuel, and Likhachev previously warned that any strike on the complex could cause a regional‑scale disaster.
Recent US‑Iran confrontations have raised concerns about the plant’s safety. Earlier this week the United States conducted air strikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran says breached a cease‑fire agreement reached last month. In response, Iranian forces attacked US warships in the area. Bushehr lies roughly 250 km (155 miles) northwest of the strategic waterway. Despite these developments, Rosatom personnel on the ground have not reported any hostile activity at the plant.
During the escalation that began with US‑Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, Rosatom reduced its on‑site staff from about 700 specialists to a core team of 20. The reduction followed a series of incidents in March and April, including a projectile impact near the plant’s perimeter that killed a security guard. Likhachev said the company is prepared to redeploy its full workforce to Iran once the security situation stabilises.
Unit 1 entered commercial operation in 2013. Construction of Units 2 and 3 – additional Russian‑designed reactors intended to expand generation capacity – has been underway since 2016. Likhachev noted that work at the site is slowly resuming, with roughly 2,200 Iranian contractors returning to focus on reinforcement and concrete work on Unit 2.
The Bushehr project has a long history. Initiated in the mid‑1970s by a West German firm, the plant’s construction was halted after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Rosatom revived the stalled effort in the 1990s, ultimately delivering the first reactor that now supplies power to Iran’s national grid.
The continued operation of Bushehr underlines the plant’s strategic importance to Iran’s energy infrastructure and its role in regional nuclear dynamics. Rosatom’s assurances of safety and its readiness to restore full staffing will be closely watched as diplomatic and military pressures evolve in the Gulf region.
