ISTANBUL

The head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom said on Friday that President Vladimir Putin has taken additional steps to ensure the safety of Russian staff at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran.

During a joint press conference with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in Moscow, Alexey Likhachev said that they discussed the Middle East situation extensively, particularly in Iran, and that he informed the IAEA chief about what is currently happening at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.

Likhachev said that Putin is “closely involved” in this matter and that they regularly report to him on the situation, both in terms of safety and the evacuation at the site, as well as regarding prospects for the development of production and construction at the facility.

“I can say that the president has taken several steps to further ensure the safety of both our comrades at the station and our convoys, which were aimed at evacuating people from the site,” he said, without further elaboration.

He added that Rosatom has never had or does not have any information about nuclear weapons in Iran.

“So far, I understand that other than political statements, no other evidence has been provided,” he said.

In an earlier statement, Rosatom said Likhachev and Grossi held another round of consultations in an interdepartmental format, which also included discussions on the situation surrounding the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

On Wednesday, Likhachev told the corporate newspaper Strana Rosatom that another 150 specialists from the Bushehr plant were evacuated on the night of March 10 and 11, and that approximately 450 Russian personnel are still at the plant for now.