Iran FM Araghchi warns of contamination risk after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Bushehr nuclear power plant

Iran's FM warns Gulf nations of severe radioactive fallout risk from attacks near Bushehr nuclear plant, escalating regional tensions.

U.S.-Israeli strikes hit an area near Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant on Saturday (April 4, 2026), prompting its Foreign Minister to warn that the effects of any fallout would be felt most keenly by the country's Gulf neighbours.

The strike near the Bushehr nuclear plant killed a guard and led Russia, which partly constructed the facility and helps operate it, to announce it was evacuating 198 workers.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that continued attacks on the plant on Iran's southern coast could eventually lead to radioactive fallout that would "end life in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) capitals, not Tehran".

Bushehr is considerably closer to Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar than it is to the Iranian capital.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote on X that no increase in radiation levels had been reported at the site, but nonetheless voiced "deep concern" at the strike, which he said was the fourth such incident in recent weeks.

"NPP (nuclear power plant) sites or nearby areas must never be attacked," he said.