Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear energy corporation, has initiated the return of its engineering specialists to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran. Five Russian engineers have already arrived, bringing the current total of Russian personnel at the site to 25. The company plans to send several dozen more specialists within the next two weeks and aims to reach a total of 100 staff members by autumn 2026.
This phased return is contingent on the sustained ceasefire between the US and Iran. The ongoing conflict, which began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, prompted Rosatom to evacuate almost all personnel by mid-April, leaving a skeleton crew of 20 managers and safety operators. The situation has now stabilized enough for a gradual resumption of work.
Construction activities for Bushehr 2 and 3, which are VVER-1000 units, are continuing. Unit 2 had its core catcher installed in 2024 and was more than 60% complete by May, with steam generators 50% complete. Rosatom expects to begin shipping key equipment for Unit 2 next year. The target operational date for Unit 2 has been revised to 2029 due to delays, while Unit 3's timeline is pushed into the early 2030s. The second phase of construction represents a $10 billion investment to add 2,100 MWe of capacity to Iran's grid.
Financial challenges, including a critical $577 million debt backlog from Iran and Western banking sanctions, had previously hampered construction. These issues were largely resolved by May 2023 through alternative financing mechanisms. Rosatom remains committed to the project, with 2,200 Iranian contractors also working on site. Preparatory work on hydraulic structures for a nuclear-powered desalination facility is also resuming, aiming to bring a 70,000-cubic-meter system online.
