Israeli Strikes Target Bushehr Province, Home to Iran's Nuclear Reactor
Israel launched strikes targeting Iran’s Bushehr province on Sunday, home to the Bushehr nuclear power plant. This facility, Iran’s only operational civilian nuclear reactor, is situated on the southern Gulf coast, approximately 1,200 km from Tehran.
The Bushehr nuclear power plant was constructed with Russian support and is powered by uranium supplied by Russia. It is considered to pose a low risk for weapons proliferation due to Russia’s retrieval of spent fuel. However, the recent strikes have raised significant concerns about the potential consequences of an attack on this facility.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that there are up to 600 Russian workers, including 250 permanent employees and others on temporary assignment, at Bushehr. Putin mentioned that Israel had issued a promise to Russia regarding the safety of these workers.
On June 19, Alexei Likhachev, the head of Russia’s nuclear energy corporation, warned that an Israeli attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant could lead to a “Chernobyl-style catastrophe.” Likhachev stated, “If there is a strike on the operational first power unit, it will be a catastrophe comparable to Chernobyl.” He was referring to the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, when a reactor exploded at Chernobyl in Soviet Ukraine.
Likhachev added that an attack on Bushehr would be “beyond… evil.” The potential environmental and health impacts of such an attack are profound and far-reaching.
In March 2025, Qatar’s Prime Minister warned that an attack on Bushehr could “completely contaminate” Gulf waters, posing a severe threat to the lives of people in Qatar, the UAE, and Kuwait. These countries heavily depend on desalination from the Gulf for their water needs, as they have limited natural freshwater resources.
The international community is closely monitoring the situation, with various nations and organizations calling for restraint and diplomatic solutions to prevent a potential humanitarian and environmental disaster.
