ST. PETERSBURG. June 19 (Interfax) - A strike on the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) under construction in Iran could result in a catastrophe comparable to the Chernobyl disaster, Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev said.
"The Bushehr plant is a special, separate issue. And, of course, if a strike is delivered on the functioning first unit, it will be comparable to the Chernobyl disaster," Likhachev told journalists on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday.
This must not be allowed to happen, he said.
"We are at one with the entire global nuclear family on this issue, including the [International Atomic Energy Agency] IAEA, that weapons must not be brought close to a functioning nuclear facility," Likhachev said.
Hopefully, the Israeli leadership "will have sufficient understanding and common sense to avert even an accidental hit, an incident in the Bushehr plant area," he said.