US and Israeli airstrikes have stranded some 150 to 200 Russian construction workers at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.
Russian state media network Tass said 639 people have been evacuated and that the remaining personnel would be rescued as soon as there are pauses in the attacks.
Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom’s director general, said: “We are very strictly monitoring our workers to ensure they do not leave the settlements – there are two settlements there, an old one and a new one – and to minimise their presence at open construction sites.”
Rosatom reported strikes on nuclear power and uranium enrichment facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Tehran, with Roastom’s chief executive stating “we still have no idea about the extent of the damage”.
Likhachev said: “Unfortunately, we have lost contact with the leadership of Iran’s entire nuclear industry: they are not answering their phones or responding to emails.
“This project will remain one of our priorities. We understand our responsibility to the civilian population and the Iranian government for the implementation of the Bushehr project.”
Russia’s president Vladimir Putin commented that additional “political support will be needed”.
The Russian team were expanding Bushehr’s commercial-scale, Rosatom-designed VVER-1000 reactor with a five-reactor nuclear plant for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation.
In 2025 there were diplomatic negotiations between Iran and the US over Iran’s nuclear plans and its stockpile of enriched uranium.
Iran has the second largest natural gas reserves in the world, which it has struggled to exploit due to sanctions. In the past, the country has expressed fears that it may become a net gas importer if it fails to develop its industry.
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