The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued a grave warning about the escalating risk posed by ongoing Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Speaking before the United Nations Security Council on Friday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi described the situation as the most serious update yet in the conflict, saying the attacks are undermining key safety systems and placing millions at potential radiological risk.
Grossi reported that at Natanz, strikes have destroyed critical electricity infrastructure and hit uranium enrichment halls, leading to internal contamination.
“While no radiological release has been detected outside the facility,” Grossi noted, he warned that “uranium compounds now posed significant health hazards within.”
At Isfahan, the IAEA said multiple structures were damaged, including a uranium conversion plant and a metal processing facility.
Damage was also confirmed at the Khondab reactor site in Arak, though the reactor was not operational at the time.
Grossi highlighted the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which remains active, as the most significant risk.
He warned that a direct strike on the plant “could result in a high release of radioactivity to the environment.”
“Even disrupting its external power supply, he stressed, “could lead to a core meltdown.”
In a worst-case scenario, Grossi said, radiation could spread over hundreds of kilometres, forcing mass evacuations and endangering countless civilians.
He also cautioned against targeting the Tehran Nuclear Research Reactor, saying any attack there “could endanger millions in the capital.”
“Nuclear facilities and material must not be shrouded by the fog of war,” Grossi stated, adding,
“We must maintain communication, transparency and restraint.”
Reaffirming the IAEA’s commitment to nuclear safety, Grossi said the agency would continue to monitor and report on developments in Iran, and reiterated its role as a mediator in the conflict.
“The agency can guarantee, through a watertight inspections system, that nuclear weapons will not be developed in Iran,” he stressed, urging for diplomatic solutions.
“The alternative is a protracted conflict and a looming nuclear threat that would erode the global non-proliferation regime.”
