Overview
- Rosatom said on Sunday that five Russian engineering staff have returned to the Bushehr construction compound, bringing the total number of Russian specialists on site to 25.
- The company plans to send another group of several dozen workers within about two weeks and aims to raise on-site personnel to roughly 100 by autumn if there is no further escalation.
- Work on the main and auxiliary buildings for Units 2 and 3 is continuing and preparatory hydraulic engineering work has begun with Russian participation.
- Rosatom says it evacuated most staff earlier this year after regional strikes but that the Bushehr construction site itself was not hit in July, and it will only restore pre-war staffing once the United States and Iran finalize an agreement to end hostilities.
- If staffing increases hold, Iran could speed completion of the two new reactors and ease electricity shortfalls, but progress will depend on security on the ground and any shifts in U.S.–Iran relations.