Warning follows reports of another strike at Bushehr station
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Sunday sounded the alarm over the safety of Iran's nuclear facilities in the face of US and Israeli strikes.
“I join the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] in raising the alarm again over the safety of nuclear facilities in Iran. The latest incident involving the Bushehr nuclear power plant is a stark reminder: a strike could trigger a nuclear accident, with health impacts that would devastate generations,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on US social media platform X.
He warned that threats are rising higher as the Middle East conflict continues and called for an immediate de-escalation.
Tedros’ remarks came after attacks on 4 April struck Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant and several petrochemical hubs, including the Mahshahr and Bandar Imam special petrochemical zones.
The IAEA said on 4 April it had been informed by Iran that a projectile struck close to the premises of the Bushehr nuclear power station, the fourth such incident in recent weeks.
Iran also informed the IAEA that one of the site’s physical protection staff members was killed by a projectile fragment and that a building on site was affected by shockwaves and fragments. No increase in radiation levels was reported.
In a statement on X, IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi expressed “deep concern” about the reported incident and said nuclear power station sites or nearby areas must never be attacked, noting that auxiliary site buildings may contain vital safety equipment.
Reiterating call for maximum military restraint to avoid risk of a nuclear accident, Grossi again stressed the “paramount importance” of ensuring nuclear safety and security during a conflict.
Grossi Warns Of ‘Reddest Line’
Last month the IAEA was told that a projectile hit the premises of the Bushehr nuclear power station.
Following that incident Grossi warned that the strike risked crossing the “reddest line” of nuclear safety.
Bushehr, on the Persian Gulf in western Iran, has a single 915-MW pressurised water reactor unit supplied by Russia in operation. A second unit of 974 MW, also supplied by Russia, is under construction and Russian state nuclear corporation. Rosatom has said work has also begun on a third unit, although it does not appear in the IAEA’s official database of reactors.
Russian technicians from state nuclear corporation Rosatom operate the plant, using Russian-made, low-enriched uranium.
About 480 Russian nationals remain at the plant, Rosatom said last month, and authorities are preparing for another round of evacuations from there.
