According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there are indications of localized contamination and chemical hazards resulting from additional impacts at the nuclear sites in Fordo and Natanz. In a statement released on Tuesday, it said that access roads and entrances to the underground facility in Fordo were hit by airstrikes. These impacts were not part of the initial bombing on Sunday but rather additional attacks that reportedly occurred early Monday morning. At Natanz, the IAEA also identified two impact craters above the underground halls where uranium had previously been enriched and nuclear material stored. Based on its knowledge of the structure and contents of these halls, the IAEA concludes that the strike may have caused localized radioactive contamination as well as chemical hazards. The full assessment is still ongoing - but the findings highlight the severity of the latest escalation between the United States and Iran.
In a separate statement, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi emphasized how crucial it is to resume cooperation with Tehran. He said he had sent a letter to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, expressing readiness for an early meeting. “Resuming cooperation with the IAEA is central to any diplomatic solution to the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program,” Grossi stated. Despite the ongoing conflict, the agency’s inspectors remain present in Iran. They are ready to resume their work at the affected nuclear facilities as soon as possible. This includes verifying the inventories of fissile material, including more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, which was last inspected a few days before the Israeli airstrikes began on June 13.
The IAEA’s call for transparency and technical cooperation is not only a diplomatic signal but also a security policy appeal - because radioactive contamination knows no borders. There is growing concern that military actions against nuclear facilities could lead not only to geopolitical risks but also to irreversible ecological and public health consequences.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordo, Natanz, and Esfahan were struck during overnight air raids carried out by the United States, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today. Based on the information currently available, the IAEA has concluded that there was extensive additional damage at the large Esfahan site – a location that had already been hit multiple times by Israel since it began striking Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 13, Grossi stated. The IAEA had previously reported that several buildings in the Esfahan complex had been damaged – some of which may have contained nuclear material.
“This morning’s attacks damaged additional buildings in Esfahan. We have also determined that entrances to underground tunnels at the site were impacted,” said Director General Grossi. The extent of damage at the Fordo uranium enrichment facility – located deep within a mountain in central Iran – could not yet be fully assessed, as the site is underground and the bombs used were particularly penetrating. “It is clear that Fordo was also directly hit, but the exact level of damage within the enrichment halls cannot currently be determined with certainty,” Grossi explained. The other enrichment facility in Natanz, which had already suffered severe damage in the past, was again targeted in last night’s airstrikes using bunker-busting munitions. The Director General added that the IAEA was informed by Iranian regulatory authorities that there had been no increase in radiation levels outside the affected facilities. Director General Grossi stressed the urgent need for the countries involved to immediately pursue a diplomatic path to end hostilities. Such efforts would also enable the IAEA to resume its essential monitoring and verification activities in Iran – including oversight of more than 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, which was last verified just days before the outbreak of the military conflict. “We need to return to the negotiating table as quickly as possible. IAEA inspectors must be allowed to return. The IAEA is ready to fulfill its indispensable role in this process. We are talking with Iran, we are talking with the United States. We must work for peace,” Grossi said.
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