Tehran, March 3: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday confirmed that entrance buildings at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility have sustained partial damage, following analysis of satellite images taken over the past two days that appear to show the impact of the ongoing US-Israeli bombing campaign.
“Based on the latest available satellite imagery, IAEA can now confirm some recent damage to entrance buildings of Iran’s underground Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP),” the agency said in a post on X.
“No radiological consequence expected and no additional impact detected at FEP itself, which was severely damaged in the June conflict,” it added. The Natanz facility was among the primary targets during the previous 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June, a conflict that later saw direct involvement by the United States.
A day earlier, on Monday, the IAEA had downplayed reports suggesting that nuclear sites in Iran had been struck in the latest round of hostilities. Tehran, however, maintained that at least one site had suffered damage.
While the head of the IAEA said there was no indication that nuclear installations in Iran had been hit in the recent airstrikes, Iran’s ambassador to the agency asserted that the country’s key nuclear site at Natanz had been attacked. Addressing an extraordinary session of the agency’s Board of Governors on Iran, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi called on “all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation.”
“Regarding the status of the nuclear installations in Iran, up to now, we have no indication that any of the nuclear installations, including the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the Tehran Research Reactor, or other nuclear fuel cycle facilities have been damaged or hit,” he had said.
Grossi further stated that the agency was attempting to reach Iran’s nuclear regulatory authorities but had not received any response. “We are trying to contact them, with no response so far,” he said, underscoring the difficulty in obtaining real-time clarity amid the intensifying conflict.
IANS
