Russia completes evacuation of over 600 employees from Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant

Russian atomic energy corporation Rosatom has completed the evacuation of its employees from the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran, its head Alexey Likhachev said on Monday.

More than 600 people have been evacuated, 20 volunteers remain directly at the nuclear plant site, and another four people remain in Tehran, Likhachev said at a press briefing in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

"We have completed the evacuation. More than 600 people have been evacuated since the start of military operations and brought to Russia. The personnel are now resting and recovering. Only volunteers remain at the site. That is 20 people at the Bushehr NPP site and 4 people in Tehran itself," he said.

Russia and Iran signed a contract for the construction of the first power unit of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in 1995. 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 February 28, 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.