Russian State Company: Almost All Russian Staff Withdrawn from Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant

Moscow, April 13 (CNA) Alexei Likhachev, Director General of Russia's state nuclear corporation (Rosatom), announced today that Moscow has withdrawn almost all Russian employees from the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which Russia helped Iran build and operate, leaving only a small number of personnel.

Agence France-Presse reported that Likhachev said, "We have begun the final round of shifts at the Bushehr nuclear power plant," adding that 108 employees have been withdrawn, with only 20 remaining, including senior management and personnel responsible for the safety of the plant's equipment. This is the only nuclear power plant in Iran.

Rosatom has been continuously withdrawing employees from the Bushehr nuclear power plant since the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict on February 28.

Moscow has warned that attacks around the nuclear power plant could cause a "radiation disaster more destructive than the Chernobyl incident."

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, located in southern Iran, is equipped with a 1000MW reactor. The area around the plant has been attacked at least four times since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict.

Earlier in April, it was reported that a staff member at the plant was killed by shrapnel. However, according to Iranian state media and the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) satellite imagery analysis of the site, the Bushehr nuclear power plant itself was not damaged.