India, April 6 -- Iran's only functioning nuclear power plant has been struck four times since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28-and each strike has pushed the world closer to a scenario that nuclear experts, Gulf leaders, and the United Nations' atomic watchdog all describe with the same word: catastrophic. Here is everything you need to know about the Bushehr plant, what would actually happen if it were directly hit, and why the consequences would reach far beyond Iran's borders.

What Is the Bushehr Nuclear Plant and Why Does It Exist?

The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant sits in the coastal city of Bushehr on Iran's southwestern shore-a city of 250,000 people on the Persian Gulf. Work on the plant began in 1975 under German c...