MOSCOW, March 3 (Reuters) – Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, has halted construction work at new units of Iran’s nuclear power plant in the port city of Bushehr because of the U.S.-Israeli air assault on Iran, its chief Alexei Likhachev said on Tuesday.
Likhachev had earlier warned of the threat posed by strikes near Iranian nuclear facilities, and said explosions could be heard “just kilometres away” from the plant, although the facility itself was not being targeted.
Work has been stopped at the construction sites of the second and third units of the plant, he told journalists.
“It is difficult to predict the further course of events, given the ongoing military operations against Iran, but our people will remain there in any case, and this facility will be among our priorities,” he said.
Likhachev said there was no telephone or electronic communication with the leadership of the Iranian nuclear industry, but contact with colleagues at the construction site remained.
Some 639 Russian personnel remain in Iran, and some who were already in the capital Tehran are leaving, Likhachev said.
Nearly 100 workers and their families were evacuated on Saturday, when U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran began, and Likhachev said evacuations of staff would continue during breaks in air strikes.
(Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova, Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Kevin liffey)
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