ISTANBUL

The head of Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom on Wednesday said that preparations are underway for a third stage of evacuation for personnel at Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.

“Yesterday, we decided to prepare for the third stage of personnel evacuation. A group departed by vehicle for the Iranian-Armenian border this morning. Two more groups will be evacuated shortly,” Rosatom’s press service quoted Alexey Likhachev as saying, according to Russian media, including state news agency Tass.

Likhachev further said that they are temporarily reducing the number of Russian specialists on site to a minimum “until the situation returns to normal.”

He also noted that the situation at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant site continues to “develop negatively,” stating that a strike hit the area adjacent to the plant’s No. 1 power unit on Tuesday night.

It was the second attack near the nuclear facility in recent days. A similar attack took place on March 17, causing no damage or injuries.

The US and Israel have maintained airstrikes on Iran since Feb. 28, killing so far more than 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.

On Monday, Likhachev told the Vesti news service, following a phone call with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, that Russia is preparing "several waves of evacuation" for personnel from the Bushehr plant.