Rosatom says 135 Russian staff are now at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant, including nine who arrived for scheduled maintenance

Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev said the Russian state nuclear corporation now has 135 engineering and technical staff at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant. The latest nine arrived on October 10 to take part in scheduled preventive maintenance on the plant’s operating first unit.

The staff are working across all three units at the site: the operating unit and two others under construction, Likhachev said.

Rosatom evacuated more than 600 employees from Bushehr amid U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that began in late February 2026. About 20 personnel remained at the site after the evacuation.