Construction of Bushehr continues: Rosatom will bring back engineers in mid-July.

Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom plans to bring back its employees to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran in mid-July, said the company's CEO Alexey Likhachev, as reported by the Russian news agency Interfax. This decision comes months after hundreds of specialists were evacuated due to the outbreak of hostilities between the United States, Israel and Iran at the end of February this year

According to Likhachev, Rosatom intends to redeploy its engineers and technical staff to the site so that work on the construction of two new nuclear units can continue.

Timeline of evacuation and preservation of the minimum staffing (so-called “skeleton crew”)

After hostilities escalated on February 28, the Russian company decided to temporarily withdraw hundreds of workers to protect them from potential military strikes. By the way, on April 4, 198 Russian specialists were transported by bus convoy from Bushehr to the Armenian border, and on the 13th Rosatom entered the final phase of personnel rotation, when another 108 employees were withdrawn. At the site itself, only a minimum of 20 senior managers and key technical specialists remained to maintain the necessary safety and operational processes (the so-called “skeleton crew”). 

Throughout the war at Bushehr there were several attacks in the vicinity of the power plant.

Context: ceasefire opens the door to continuing projects

The decision to bring back the workforce is a direct consequence of implementing a temporary ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, as well as the broader political agreement reached after months of conflict. This agreement has reduced regional tensions and enabled the gradual normalization of commercial flights and maritime traffic in the Persian Gulf.

The return of Russian personnel to Bushehr – the first civilian nuclear power plant in Iran on the Persian Gulf coast – is seen as a key indicator of stabilization of security conditions on the ground. The resumption of work sends a clear signal that international strategic and infrastructural projects in the region are beginning to be revived with the first signs of a more lasting de-escalation of tensions.

S.A.