Most Russia personnel evacuated from Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant: Rosatom

MOSCOW

Most Russian personnel working at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant have been successfully evacuated, said the head of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom on Sunday.

Another wave of evacuation of Rosatom employees from Iran is planned for next week, Alexey Likhachev said on the sidelines of the Atomskills Championship in Yekaterinburg.

"Our main evacuation wave of 198 people is successfully moving toward the Armenian-Iranian border," he said. "I very much hope that by tonight they will already be on the territory of the Republic of Armenia."

According to Likhachev, some employees decided to stay at the plant despite the risks in order to monitor the situation.

Likhachev called on the opposing sides of the Mideast conflict and international organizations to work to prevent any aggressive actions in the area of the operating nuclear reactor.

"The reactor continues to operate at power — the Iranians need it very much; it is vitally necessary today for the energy supply of the plant," he said.

The history of Russian involvement at Bushehr goes back decades. Construction originally began with a German company but was abandoned after the 1979 revolution. In 1995, Russia stepped in and signed a contract to complete the first power unit. In 2011, the plant started operating.

In 2014, Russia and Iran signed a contract for the construction of two new reactors at Bushehr.

Last month, Russia began evacuating its personnel from the plant due to escalating regional tensions, which started after the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, so far killing more than 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets. Iran has also restricted the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.