Rosatom Says Situation at Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant Unfolding Under Worst-Case Scenario

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Bushehr, Iran, Dec. 7, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Bushehr, Iran, Dec. 7, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
TT

Rosatom Says Situation at Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant Unfolding Under Worst-Case Scenario

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Bushehr, Iran, Dec. 7, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Bushehr, Iran, Dec. 7, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

The situation at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant continues to develop along a worst-case scenario, the head of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, said on Wednesday.

The International Atomic ‌Energy Agency ‌on Tuesday said ‌it had ⁠been informed by ⁠Iran that a projectile struck the premises of the Bushehr NPP.

Likhachev said the strike, which caused no ⁠casualties, occurred at around ‌1800 ‌GMT on Tuesday and hit ‌an area near ‌an operational power unit.

He added that Rosatom had begun a third phase of ‌personnel evacuation, with one group departing by road ⁠towards ⁠the Iranian-Armenian border on Wednesday morning and two more groups set to leave shortly.

Until the situation stabilizes, Rosatom is temporarily reducing the number of staff at the plant to a minimum.



US Forces Monitoring Strait of Hormuz to Ensure it Stays Open

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
TT

US Forces Monitoring Strait of Hormuz to Ensure it Stays Open

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

The US military on Saturday denied Iran's claims that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, saying the critical waterway remained open and that US forces were monitoring the situation to ensure that ⁠continued.

"Iran does not ⁠control the Strait of Hormuz," US Central Command spokesperson Navy Captain Tim Hawkins told Reuters. "Traffic ⁠continues to flow, and US forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case."

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the Strait of Hormuz shut earlier on Saturday and warned ⁠ships ⁠not to approach the waterway, casting new doubt on the future of a ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran meant to pave the way for in-depth peace talks.


Russian Attacks on Ukraine Leave Several People Dead and Injured

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian glide bomb strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 20 June 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian glide bomb strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 20 June 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV
TT

Russian Attacks on Ukraine Leave Several People Dead and Injured

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian glide bomb strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 20 June 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian glide bomb strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 20 June 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV

Russian forces struck the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia with glide bombs on Saturday, killing ⁠four people and injuring ⁠six, Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov ⁠said on Telegram.

Fedorov said there had been nine strikes in the city. He said residents could ⁠well ⁠be trapped in the rubble of damaged buildings.

Russian bombs also struck an apartment building on Saturday in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, killing at least one person and wounding nine, including a 6-year-old child, authorities said.

A body was pulled from the rubble hours after the attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.

He said that the bombs slammed into the low-rise building in Kharkiv's Kholodnohirskiy district in the early hours.

The head of the regional administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said that at least nine people were wounded, five of whom were hospitalized.

Elsewhere in Kharkiv, a Russian drone struck a civilian vehicle on Friday evening, killing a man and wounding the woman who was driving the car, Syniehubov said.

Later on Saturday, Russia again launched guided bombs at Ukraine, striking the outskirts of the northern city of Sumy, according to local administration head Oleh Hryhorov.

The attacks killed a male civilian and damaged at least 20 private houses, Hryhorov reported on Telegram.

Ukraine's air force said that it shot down 92 of 99 Russian drones launched overnight and that seven struck targets in three locations.

Meanwhile, Russian air defenses repelled a drone attack on an oil refinery in Tyumen in Western Siberia, Gov. Alexander Moor said Saturday. He said that there was no damage to the refinery and staff members were evacuated.


Italy's Meloni Slams 'Senseless' Attacks from Trump

(FILES) US President Donald Trump greets Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (Photo by Evan Vucci / POOL / AFP)
(FILES) US President Donald Trump greets Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (Photo by Evan Vucci / POOL / AFP)
TT

Italy's Meloni Slams 'Senseless' Attacks from Trump

(FILES) US President Donald Trump greets Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (Photo by Evan Vucci / POOL / AFP)
(FILES) US President Donald Trump greets Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (Photo by Evan Vucci / POOL / AFP)

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hit back at what she called "senseless" attacks by US leader Donald Trump over his claim she insisted on having a photo with him at a recent G7 summit.

"These constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless,” she said on her Instagram page in response to Trump's allegation made on his Truth Social platform.

"Being your friend certainly has not helped" her popularity, she said, adding: "I suggest you focus on yours.”

The dustup led Italy’s foreign minister to cancel a planned trip to the United States as Meloni’s government lined up in her defense.

“Italian Prime Minister Gigiorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on his social media platform while spending the weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat. He misspelled her first name in the initial post, which he later corrected.

He continued: “She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (But so did NATO, for that matter!).”