Israel-Iran war: After explosions boom Bushehr, Iran's only nuclear plant; Rosatom downplays attack - ‘site remains…’

Israel-Iran war: Hours after explosions boomed Sunday afternoon in the Iranian port city of Bushehr – home to Iran's only operating nuclear power plant – the Rosatom has downplayed the attack by Israel, stating that the “situation at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant site remains calm.”

“Last night’s strikes did not affect this part of Iranian territory. We are closely monitoring the situation and maintaining full control,” Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said in a statement.

Bushehr is run with Russian assistance.

Earlier, the UN Nuclear Chief had already warned that an Israeli strike on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could trigger a regional catastrophe, a ‘nuclear disaster’.

What, where is Bushehr — Iran's only operating nuclear power plant?

Bushehr is Iran's only operating nuclear power plant and was built by Russia. Located on the Gulf Coast, at Bushehr, Russian fuel is used and then taken back to Russia when its spent in order to reduce nuclear proliferation risk, reported Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia has up to 600 staff at Bushehr, including 250 permanent workers and others on temporary assignment. He said Israel had issued a promise to Russia over their safety.

‘High radioactivity, evacuations’ — What strikes on Bushehr could trigger

The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi had earlier told the UN Security Council that a direct hit on Russian-built Bushehr, could “result in a very high release of radioactivity”, with “great consequences” beyond Iran’s borders, reported Al Jazeera.

Additionally, a strike on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant — which holds “thousands of kilogrammes of nuclear material” — could have catastrophic consequences, Grossi had warned, according to multiple reports.

The UN Nuclear chief had cautioned that such an attack would necessitate evacuation orders for areas spanning several hundred kilometres, potentially affecting major population centres not just in Iran, but across neighbouring Gulf countries as well.

In the wake of such a scenario, authorities would be forced to take urgent protective measures — including distributing iodine to local populations, restricting food supplies, and conducting radiation monitoring over several hundred kilometres, Al Jazeera reported, citing experts.

'Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster'

Russia had also echoed similar sentiments as the UN Nuclear Chief, warning of a ‘Chernobyl-style’ nuclear disaster in the event that Bushehr is hit.

After the Israeli military claimed on Thursday, that its comments about striking Bushehr had been made by mistake, Likhachev, head of the state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, said that any attack on the plant could cause a Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster.

What was the Chernobyl disaster?

On April 26, 1986, one of the reactors of a nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, Ukraine, went out of control during a test at low-power, leading to an explosion and fire that demolished the reactor building and released large amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.

Around 30 workers died within the first few months, mainly from severe radiation sickness. The disaster also caused a sharp rise in thyroid cancer, especially in children who were exposed. Alongside the health issues, many people suffered from anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress after the accident, as per National Institutes of Health.