Cliff Notes
- The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, emphasised that armed attacks on nuclear facilities pose severe risks of radioactive releases and must not occur.
- Grossi reiterated the need for diplomatic solutions, urging Iran, Israel, and the Middle East to engage in negotiations and allow IAEA inspectors access to Iran’s nuclear sites.
- Following US strikes, damage at Iran’s Fordow and Natanz facilities has been reported, although Iran claims there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels.
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Armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned.
Speaking at an IAEA emergency meeting, Rafael Grossi said the world was in the “midst of a serious conflict” with Iran’s nuclear sites coming under attack.
But there was still a “path for diplomacy”.
He said Iran, Israel, and the Middle East need peace, and the first step to help was to return to the negotiating table and to allow IAEA inspectors to go back to Iran’s nuclear sites.
On the status of Iran’s nuclear sites following US attacks, he said craters are now visible at the Fordow site.
At the Natanz enrichment site, the fuel enrichment plant was hit, with the US confirming that it used ground-penetrating munitions, he added.
Iran has informed the IAEA that there was “no increase in off-site radiation levels at all three sites”, Grossi said.
“Let me again recall past general conference resolutions that state that armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the state which has been attacked,” he added.
“I therefore again call on maximum restraint. Military escalation not only threatens lives, it also delays us from taking the diplomatic path.”