“EXTREMELY OUTRAGED”: Russia Accuses U.S. and Israel of “Disastrous” Path After Bushehr Strike
MOSCOW / VIENNA — The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a blistering condemnation of the United States and Israel on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, accusing the two allies of courting a nuclear catastrophe. The statement followed a projectile strike late Tuesday that landed within the compound of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, Iran’s only operational nuclear facility.
Moscow described the incident as a “reckless and irresponsible manifestation of a disastrous course,” warning that the ongoing military campaign is pushing the region toward “irreparable consequences.”
The “Worst-Case Scenario” at Bushehr
The strike on Tuesday night (approx. 1800 GMT) hit an area near the plant’s No. 1 power unit. While both Iranian authorities and the IAEA confirmed the reactor remains undamaged and radiation levels are stable, Russia has moved to protect its remaining personnel.
- Mass Evacuation: Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev announced the “third stage” of personnel withdrawal today. A group of 163 specialists left by road for the Iranian-Armenian border this morning.
- Skeleton Crew: Only about 300 Russian staff remain on-site, down from nearly 500 at the start of the month. Likhachev indicated that the presence will be reduced to a “minimum” of a few dozen people to oversee essential equipment.
- Suspended Construction: Work on Units 2 and 3, which Rosatom was actively building, has been entirely halted since the conflict began on February 28.
The IAEA’s Seven Pillars Under Threat
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi reiterated that any attack near a nuclear plant violates the “seven indispensable pillars” of nuclear safety.
| Date of Incident | Proximity to Reactor | Reported Damage |
| March 17, 2026 | 350 Meters | Metrological service structure destroyed; no radiation leak. |
| March 24, 2026 | “Inner Perimeter” | Projectile landed inside compound; no structural damage to Unit 1. |
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s envoy to international organizations in Vienna, noted that the IAEA has now acknowledged that the “physical integrity” of the facility is under active threat—a situation he described as “hard to imagine” just a year ago.
Strategic Friction: A “Radiological” Red Line?
The Kremlin’s accusation that the U.S. and Israel are “trying to spark a nuclear disaster” serves as a severe diplomatic warning as the Friday, March 27 deadline approaches.
- The Infrastructure Phase: Washington is prepared to transition to the “total infrastructure phase” (targeting the national grid) at sunrise tomorrow. Russia argues that such a move would make a nuclear accident almost inevitable due to the loss of external power for cooling systems.
- The “Axis” Leverage: Analysts suggest Putin is using the Bushehr safety crisis to pressure the Trump administration into an “off-ramp” that might include concessions on the Ukraine front in exchange for Russian mediation in Tehran.
- Global Water Security: Experts warn that a radiation leak into the Persian Gulf would pose an “existential crisis” for Gulf Arab nations like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which rely on the Gulf for their desalination plants.
What’s Next?
As the 82nd Airborne arrives in the region and Israel continues its “strike surge,” the Bushehr plant has become a literal and metaphorical flashpoint. If the U.S. proceeds with the Friday morning escalation, the remaining “skeleton crew” of Russian scientists may be the only thing standing between the current conflict and a regional radiological disaster.