Know about Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant after reports of strike near its complex

Dubai: Iran and Russia both allege that a projectile struck the grounds of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in the Islamic Republic, raising the spectre of a radiological incident as Tehran’s war with Israel and the United States rages.

And though no release of nuclear material was reported following the incident on Tuesday evening, it again underlines a longtime worry of Iran’s neighbours — that the power plant on the shores of the Persian Gulf could be hit by either an attack or a natural disaster such as an earthquake.

Here’s what to know about the incident, the plant itself and Iran’s wider nuclear programme — which US President Donald Trump points to as one of the reasons for starting the war alongside Israel against Iran on February 28.

Reports of a projectile hitting the area

Russia’s state-run Tass news agency quoted Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev late Tuesday as claiming that “a strike hit the area adjacent to the metrology service building located at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant site, in close proximity to the operating power unit”.

Russian technicians from Rosatom operate the plant, using Russian-made, low-enriched uranium. “There were no casualties among Rosatom State Corporation personnel,” Likhachev said.

“The radiation situation at the site is normal.”

About 480 Russian nationals remain at the plant, Likhachev said, and authorities are preparing for another round of evacuations from there.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran later issued a statement saying “no financial, technical, or human damage occurred and no part of the plant was harmed.” Iran blamed the incident on the US and Israel, Tass later reported.

The UN nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — has had its inspections of Iran restricted over years of tensions over Tehran’s programme after Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, issued a carefully worded statement early Wednesday. “The IAEA has been informed by Iran that a projectile hit the premises of the Bushehr NPP on Tuesday evening,” the United Nations agency said, using an acronym for nuclear power plant. “No damage to the plant or injuries to staff reported.”

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the IAEA, told journalists in Washington that the damage at Bushehr appeared to have been done by a drone and “doesn’t seem to be very significant”.