Overview
- Rosatom has told officials it has a formal plan to start returning specialists to the Bushehr nuclear site in mid‑July, a timeline the company says is conditional on improved security and reduced risk of strikes.
- The IAEA director said Rosatom’s earlier withdrawal was reasonable, that essential experts remained to operate Unit 1, and that Russian personnel are now gradually returning to the site.
- Independent reporting said phased evacuations earlier in 2026 removed about 813 Russian staff and that the number of essential Russian personnel fell to roughly 20 at the facility’s lowest point.
- Rosatom has said construction on new units was suspended because of the conflict, while other reporting states roughly 2,200 Iranian contractors continued work and that Unit 2’s reactor was more than 60% complete as of May 2026, a point that remains disputed.
- Bushehr’s Unit 1 has supplied power to Iran’s grid since 2011 under long‑running Russian collaboration, and a return of Rosatom specialists could speed formal oversight and affect project timelines, worker safety and Iran’s wider power plans.