TEHRAN - The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed grave concern over the safety of Iran’s nuclear facilities following US-Israeli strikes near the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

“ The latest incident involving the Bushehr nuclear power plant is a stark reminder: a strike could trigger a nuclear accident, with health impacts that would devastate generations,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.

“With every passing day of this escalating conflict, the stakes and threats are raised higher and higher. We must de-escalate now. Peace is the best medicine,” he added.

The United States and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28 and have since targeted military, energy, and residential areas across the country. The aggression has resulted in the deaths of more than 2,000 people.

Tedros’ remarks came after the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that a projectile struck near the Bushehr facility on Saturday. According to the agency, one staff member at the site was killed by falling debris.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the Bushehr nuclear power plant has been struck four times by the United States and Israel during the ongoing conflict.

In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, members of the Security Council, and IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, Araghchi cautioned that continued attacks on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure could expose the entire region to radioactive contamination.

“These illegal attacks expose the entire region to a serious risk of radioactive contamination, which could have grave consequences for human health and the environment, and therefore must not be ignored,” he wrote.

Araghchi stressed that the facilities targeted are under international safeguards, including the Bushehr plant, which he said is dedicated solely to peaceful purposes and operates under IAEA supervision.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also condemned Saturday's strike, noting that the situation at Bushehr is "increasingly approaching a dangerous point."

"The worst can still be avoided, but to achieve this, strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, including the Bushehr nuclear power plant, must cease immediately," she said.

The Bushehr facility is Iran’s only operational nuclear power plant. Located in the southern city of Bushehr, home to approximately 250,000 people, it is considered one of the country’s most significant industrial and strategic hubs.