Situation at Bushehr NPP is nearing a dangerous line — Zakharova

MOSCOW, April 4. /TASS/. Moscow is making every effort to draw the attention of the international community to the fact that the situation at the Bushehr nuclear power plant is increasingly approaching a dangerous line, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in connection with reports of new shelling of the Bushehr NPP. "From the Russian side, every effort is being made to draw the attention of the international community and the global public to the fact that the situation at the Bushehr NPP is increasingly approaching a dangerous line. The worst can still be avoided. However, for this to happen, strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran, including the Bushehr NPP, must be stopped immediately," the diplomat stressed. As Zakharova noted, Russia strongly condemns this new strike, which resulted in casualties. "We are receiving with growing concern reports of new missile strikes on the Bushehr NPP that took place on April 4. We are studying the incoming information on this matter. We express our condolences over the death of one of the plant’s employees, who, as far as we know, was responsible for physical protection," she added. According to the diplomat, Moscow has taken note of the deep concern expressed by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi over the attack. "He, in particular, emphasized that both nuclear power plants themselves and the adjacent territories where vital nuclear safety systems may be located should never become targets of military strikes," she stressed. "It is clear that his words are addressed to the aggressors who continue, without hesitation and even with a certain unhealthy zeal, to strike directly at Iran’s nuclear energy infrastructure, which falls under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and Iran’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA," Zakharova added. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman also said that the United States and Israel, by their actions against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, had completely undermined their previous reputation in the field of nuclear non-proliferation and safety. "These illegal and reckless actions are an indelible stain on the international reputation of those who direct missiles at the Bushehr NPP and other Iranian nuclear facilities under the Agency’s safeguards and give the order to strike. In essence, they have completely undermined their previous reputation in the field of nuclear non-proliferation, as well as nuclear and physical nuclear security, effectively admitting that they recognize no norms or restrictions themselves," she continued. "We expect that the damage inflicted by American and Israeli strikes on the NPT regime will become the subject of an impartial and rigorous assessment during the Review Conference of the Treaty, which opens on April 27," Zakharova concluded. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran reported on Saturday that another strike had been carried out near the Bushehr nuclear power plant. A projectile fell near the plant’s territory, killing one of the nuclear facility’s security guards, but the main facilities were not damaged. The International Atomic Energy Agency, commenting on the incident, noted that strikes on nuclear power plant sites and adjacent areas are unacceptable, as equipment critical to ensuring nuclear safety is located there.