Russia evacuates 198 more staff from Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant, agencies report - reuters.com

<a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiuAFBVV95cUxOYzcyWkgyMU9vOGM3VlI0cjU4QmNJMEp2Y2RUOFNZMW1LME9EbGRxZUpVR0M1U0ZZazB5bGlIVXFBY1pNQjQ1UTNuZ2VNdzl5YUNZdUJCeTFrT3htREJhQjB6cG9rUHBHSm02QzVFVTFjbEhDQU0xTWxqc2lrZU1Xekp3N2xkOVlvcnNHU19WMUJ6Vnlma3o2UG9JbVFXQ1paaHRndVphTE1UVTF3cmFYSElpc3M4RGtD?oc=5" target="_blank">Russia evacuates 198 more staff from Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant, agencies report</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6f6f6f">reuters.com</font>

Russia's state nuclear company Rosatom evacuated an additional 198 staff members from Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant amid escalating tensions in the region. The evacuation was planned prior to an attack that resulted in the death of an Iranian security staff member and damage to a building on site.

Rosatom has been evacuating staff from the Bushehr plant since the Iran war broke out at the end of February. The latest evacuation was planned before the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that one of the plant’s physical protection staff was killed by a projectile fragment and that a building on site was affected by shockwaves and fragments.

The evacuation, confirmed on Saturday through Russian state news agencies, forms part of a broader effort by Moscow to reduce its on-ground presence at the site amid escalating concerns over the safety of the facility due to the ongoing conflict in the region.

Rosatom has been evacuating staff from the plant since the Iran war broke out at the end of February. The latest evacuation was planned before the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that one of the plant’s physical protection staff was killed by a projectile fragment and that a building on site was affected by shockwaves and fragments.

Rosatom chief executive officer Alexei Likhachev said the withdrawal began about 20 minutes after the airstrike occurred. Employees left Iran by bus over two to three days and are to return to Russia by air via Armenia.

Rosatom has been evacuating staff from the plant since the Iran war broke out at the end of February. The latest evacuation was planned before the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that one of the plant’s physical protection staff was killed by a projectile fragment and that a building on site was affected by shockwaves and fragments.

This was a third evacuation from the facility in southern Iran on the Gulf coast, which was built with Moscow's help, with about 100 Russian staff remaining there by now. The area around Bushehr has been struck four times during this war. The latest attack on Saturday saw one person — a guard at the facility — killed, but did not damage the plant itself, according to Iranian state media.

A total of 198 Rosatom employees are being transported by bus toward the Iranian-Armenian border. Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said he hopes the evacuation will be completed within two to three days, with the staff returning to Russia via Armenia.