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Bushehr was founded in 1736 by Nadir Shah, and used as a base by the British Royal Navy in the 18th century. It became an important commercial port in the 19th century. Bushehr was occupied by British forces in 1856, and again in 1915, the second time due to German intriguing, most notably by Wilhelm WassmussWilhelm Wassmuss ( 1880 1931) was a German diplomat, also known as the "German Lawrence" or the "Lawrence of Persia". Wassmuss was born in Hanover and after a university education entered the German Foreign Service. He was posted first to Madagascar, then.

Industries include fishingFishing is both the recreation and sport of catching fish (for food or as a trophy), and the commercial fishing industry of catching or harvesting seafood (either fish or other aquatic life-forms, such as shellfish). Fishing is done in a river, canal, lak and a thermoelectricThermoelectric power can refer to two things: # Electrical power generated from a heat source, such as burning coal, indirectly through devices like steam turbines. The thermopower, or Seebeck coefficient, of a material, which governs its thermoelectric p power plant, while the inland area (also called Bushehr) produces Shiraz wine, metalwork, rugs and other textiles, cement, and fertilizer. The Iranian navy has a base here.

Bushehr is near (12 km) the site of a nuclear power plant being built in cooperation with Russia. The work actually started as a Siemens project to build two reactors in 1974, but the revolution in 1979 halted work when one reactor was 85% complete. The reactors were then damaged by multiple Iraqi air strikes between 1984 and 1988. Iran subsequently requested that Siemens finish construction, but Siemens declined because of diplomatic pressure from the United States, and the contractual dispute is yet to be resolved.

In 1995, Russia signed a contract to supply a light water reactor for the plant. Although the agreements calls for the spent fuel rods to be sent back to Russia for reprocessing, the US has expressed concern that Iran would reprocess the rods itself, in order to obtain plutonium for atomic bombs. In August 2004 a top U.S. arms-control official stated that Tehran could develop nuclear weapons within three years if left unchecked. U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said in Washington that "Iran has told the EU three [Britain, France, and Germany] that it could possess nuclear weapons within three years." For context see Iran's nuclear program.