Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom plans to increase its workforce at Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant to 100 specialists by the autumn, depending on the security situation and progress toward a halt in hostilities between Washington and Tehran.
Rosatom Chief Executive Alexey Likhachev said the company has begun returning specialists to the site after personnel were evacuated from the country earlier this year.
The first five engineering and technical workers have already returned, bringing the total number of Russian specialists at Bushehr to 25 employees. Likhachev said the next group of several dozen employees is expected to arrive within two weeks if there is no further escalation.
Construction work on additional power units at the plant is continuing, with activities underway on the main and auxiliary buildings for reactors No. 2 and No. 3.
Russia and Iran have maintained close cooperation in the energy and defence sectors despite growing pressure from Western sanctions and regional tensions.
Speaking on AnewZ’s Daybreak, political analyst and a member of the Middle East and North Africa Editors' Network, Dmitry Bridzhe said the partnership between Moscow and Tehran remains important because both countries face international restrictions.
“Both sides are still cooperating on different levels. And especially we know that the Russian side signed a partnership agreements, a cooperation, with the Iranian side in 2024. So this cooperation it still exists and it's very important for both sides, because it's a very, very difficult situation for both sides,” Bridzhe said.
He added that Russia has benefited from cooperation with Iran since 2022, particularly as Western sanctions have affected Moscow’s economic ties.
“Iran is benefiting from its relationship with the Russian side since 2022, especially because the Western countries decided to put, (and) implement sanctions on the Russian economy and restrict its relationship with the Russian side,” he said.
Russia signed a contract with Iran to build the first unit of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in 1995, with the reactor beginning operations in 2011. Moscow and Tehran later agreed on the construction of two additional reactors at the site in 2014.
Rosatom’s expanded presence at Bushehr will depend on developments in the wider U.S.-Iran confrontation, after renewed hostilities disrupted previous efforts toward a lasting agreement.
The company said it aims to restore its previous staffing levels once conditions allow.
Since 2021, only 9 per cent of $8 billion in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan can be traced beyond initial recipients in public re...
Thousands protested in Albania's capital, Tirana, on...
Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan surged by 330 per cent in 2026 despite a four-year ban, the United Nations said on Thursday. Afghan authorit...
Evacuations and the provision of humanitarian aid in the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky have begun, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday. In a statement on Telegram, David Arakhamia said a six-day ceasefire was holding, and that more details would follow.
The U.S. has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth an estimated $2.1 billion, but Kyiv could face years of delays before receiving the weapons it urgently needs to defend against intensifying Russian attacks.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered Iran's armed forces to respond to any threat immediately and without geographical limits in statements posted to social media platforms on Saturday (31 October).
Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and placards supporting the hijab gathered outside the Azerbaijani Embassy in London.
A Chinese-made AI chip has matched Nvidia’s H200 in tests conducted by its developer, marking a potential breakthrough in China’s efforts to reduce its dependence on foreign technology.
Thousands protested in Albania's capital, Tirana, on Saturday (31 October), demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation over perceived corruption allegations and dissatisfaction with the government over a lack of jobs and poor education standards.
Russia has agreed to work with Ghana on developing a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant following talks at the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said on Saturday.
Foreign ministers from the U.S., Japan, Australia and India raised concerns over export restrictions and economic coercion at a Quad meeting in Atlanta, U.S., on Saturday, 31 October 2026, according to their joint statement.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki on Saturday (31 October) accused Prime Minister Donald Tusk of staging a forced takeover of the country’s Constitutional Tribunal, following the suspension of the court’s president.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he is open to calls for a formal apology for Britain’s historical role in slavery, ahead of next week’s Commonwealth summit, where he is expected to face demands for financial reparations.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment