Allied forces have launched airstrikes targeting areas surrounding Iran’s sole operational nuclear facility, resulting in the death of a security staff member and another strike landing a mere 82 yards from the plant’s main structure, the United Nations reported on Monday.
Confirming these developments, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, stated that recent airstrikes have occurred in close proximity to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. This facility, constructed and maintained with Russian assistance, remains under scrutiny.
Although satellite imagery indicates that the Bushehr plant itself has not been directly struck, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has called for an urgent de-escalation of hostilities. He expressed concern over the potential consequences of continued military action in the vicinity of a nuclear site.
“Ongoing military operations near the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant pose a serious risk of triggering a severe radiological incident, with potentially devastating effects on both the local population and the environment across Iran and neighboring regions,” Grossi warned.
In response to the escalating threat, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, which is involved in the plant’s operation, evacuated 198 of its staff members over the weekend, as reported by Russian state media.
Rosatom’s CEO, Alexei Likhachev, has been systematically withdrawing Russian personnel since the conflict’s onset. The latest evacuation was prompted by the tragic death of an Iranian security staffer, killed by shrapnel from a projectile, according to statements from both the IAEA and Rosatom on Saturday.
Along with the death, shockwaves from the strikes and debris affected one of the buildings, the IAEA added.
Despite the latest evacuation call, Likhachev said Rosatom employees are choosing to stay at the plant despite the risks to keep it operating, warning that the facility serves as a key energy supply for Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi slammed the attacks on the Bushehr power plant as hypocritical given the West’s concerns after airstrikes in the Ukraine war hit the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest such facility in Europe.
“Israel-US have bombed our Bushehr plant four times now. Radioactive fallout will end life in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) capitals, not Tehran,” Araghchi claimed online.
The escalating attacks in Bushehr came as President Trump vowed to destroy Iran’s power grid if they failed to agree to his cease-fire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F—in’ Strait, you crazy b—–ds, or you’ll be living in Hell,” the president added.
With Post wires
