Moscow: Russia's state nuclear energy corporation, Rosatom, has announced plans to bolster its workforce at Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, aiming to increase the staff count to 100 by the fall, contingent upon the current geopolitical situation. Alexey Likhachev, head of Rosatom, conveyed this strategy on Sunday, as reported by Russia's state news agency, Tass.
According to Anadolu Agency, Rosatom has already commenced the return of specialists to the Bushehr construction site, with the initial group of five engineering and technical workers having arrived and begun their assignments. This addition brings the total number of Russian specialists on site to 25. Likhachev emphasized Rosatom's intention to reinstate all specialists who were previously evacuated from Iran, though the timeline for achieving pre-conflict staffing levels hinges on final agreements between the US and Iran regarding hostilities.
Likhachev elaborated on Rosatom's immediate plans, stating, "We plan to send the next group, several dozen employees, in the next two weeks. This is, of course, assuming there is no further escalation of the conflict between the US and Iran. If all goes well, we will increase our project staff to 100 by the fall." Meanwhile, construction activities for the main and auxiliary buildings of power units No. 2 and No. 3 are ongoing, alongside preparatory work on hydraulic structures.
The collaboration between Russia and Iran on the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant dates back to 1995, with the first power unit becoming operational in 2011. A subsequent contract for the construction of two additional reactors was signed in 2014. However, the recent conflict, which began on February 28 with a joint offensive by the US and Israel on Iran, prompted Russia to evacuate its personnel from the plant in March.
A temporary ceasefire was agreed upon between Tehran and Washington in April, followed by a framework deal in June aimed at achieving lasting peace. Despite this, the agreement fell apart last month, leading to renewed hostilities until US President Donald Trump unexpectedly called for a halt to the bombardment amid reports of ongoing talks to resolve the conflict.