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.
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