00:15Imagine getting a message from the Kremlin that says, and I'm quoting directly here,
00:21this is a dangerous game that is likely to cause a major nuclear disaster with grave
00:27implications for the Middle East. That message was sent to Israeli officials about strikes
00:33happening right now near a live operating nuclear power plant, and it gets more serious the deeper
00:39you go. Boucher Nuclear Power Plant, located on Iran's southwestern coast, roughly 750 miles south
00:48of Tehran, sitting on the shores of the Persian Gulf. Russia built it. Russia partly operates it,
00:55and until very recently, roughly 600 Russian nuclear experts and civilian workers were living
01:02and working inside it. Now, U.S. and Israeli airstrikes have been hitting targets in that
01:08area repeatedly, and at least one strike reportedly came very close to Russian personnel on site,
01:15close enough that the Kremlin decided it was time to pick up the phone and deliver a very direct,
01:21very serious warning to Israel. According to Israel's Channel 12, Russia's foreign ministry
01:27and the Russian embassy in Israel both repeatedly contacted Israeli officials in recent weeks
01:33with the same urgent message. The strikes near Boucher were endangering Russian experts,
01:40Russian civilians, people Moscow considers its own nationals, in a facility Moscow helped construct.
01:46One Kremlin official reportedly sent a message to an Israeli counterpart that pulled no punches.
01:53You are placing our people in danger. This is a dangerous game that is likely to cause a major
01:59nuclear disaster with grave implications for the Middle East. We call on you to stop.
02:05An April 4 strike near the plant reportedly killed an Iranian guard. Rafael Grossi confirmed it was the
02:13fourth such incident near the plant in recent weeks. Four strikes in the vicinity of a live nuclear reactor
02:20in active operation. One strike reportedly hit very close to Russian personnel specifically,
02:26close enough that Moscow characterized it as a direct threat to their people's lives.
02:32Now, the chief of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, announced that nearly all Russian
02:38personnel are being pulled from Boucher. Around 600 workers have been evacuated in several waves
02:44through March and into April. Only 20 workers are staying behind. 20 people to keep watch on the
02:51equipment at a plant where Russia is simultaneously building two more nuclear reactors.
02:56The final rotation at the Boucher station, 108 people are currently moving towards Isfahan and
03:02everything is proceeding according to plan. 20 people remained at the station. Our branch manager,
03:08his deputy is a security unit representative and the engineering and technical staff responsible for
03:15equipment safety. Overseeing.
03:19This incident has opened a genuinely new and dangerous front in an already complex war.
03:25The Boucher warnings have now injected real strain into that relationship. Russia explicitly told
03:31Israel that the strikes were threatening bilateral relations. That's not language Moscow uses casually.
03:38No nuclear incident has occurred. The plant is still operating. Radiation levels are normal.
03:44But Russia just evacuated 580 of its 600 workers from a live nuclear facility in an active war zone.
03:53And before they left, they told Israel directly, you are playing a dangerous game. Israel adjusted.
04:00For now. The question is what happens if the strikes continue. Because the 20 people left inside Boucher
04:07are watching equipment that, if things go wrong, could make every other development in this war look
04:14small by comparison.
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04:40I'll see you soon.
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