A nuclear security expert has warned that a direct strike on Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant could unleash a disaster comparable to Chernobyl or Hiroshima.

Tariq Raoul, former head of nuclear verification and security policy at the International Atomic Energy Agency, told Al Jazeera, “Nuclear power plants like Bushehr are designed to withstand impact - but that’s the design. We don’t know what will happen in reality,” The Caspian Post reports.

Raoul cautioned that Gulf contamination could persist for years, affecting desalination plants, fish supplies, and rendering hundreds of kilometers uninhabitable. People exposed to radiation could face severe effects, including blistering, loss of consciousness, blood loss, and cancer.

“It’s irresponsible to target, deliberately or accidentally,” he said, warning that “sooner or later an errant drone may crash into the reactor.