By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – Head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency IAEA Rafael Grossi on Monday appealed for immediate access to the targeted sites to assess the damage that is likely “very significant” after surprise US bombing raids on Iranian uranium enrichment facilities over the weekend.
Rafael Grossi was addressing the agency’s Board of Governors, in the aftermath of the fresh reports of new Israeli missile strikes on Iranian military sites in Tehran and elsewhere earlier on Monday.
Iran also fired weapons reported across Israel.
Mr. Grossi addressed an emergency meeting of the UNSC on Sunday insisted that the agency’s weapons inspectors should return to Iran’s nuclear sites and account for their stockpiles.
He noted that there is particular concern about 400 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to 60 per cent by Iran.
Iran is permitted to enrich the naturally occurring radioactive material to less than four per cent under the terms of a 2015 nuclear deal with the international community.
He told the IAEA Board of Governors that “Craters are now visible at the Fordow site, Iran’s main location for enriching uranium at 60 per cent, indicating the use of ground-penetrating munitions; this is consistent with statements from the United States”.
“At this time, no one including the IAEA is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordow.”
Mr. Grossi said that taking into account the highly explosive payload used in the US attacks, “very significant damage is expected to have occurred” to the highly sensitive centrifuge machinery used to enrich uranium at Fordow.
Fordow is one of several nuclear-related sites across Iran that are known to have been damaged in the strikes by the United States, including those in Esfahan, Arak and Tehran.
IAEA chief Grossi said that although radiation levels remained normal outside these nuclear facilities, deep concerns remained about Iran’s operational nuclear plant at Bushehr.
He said that any strike on Bushehr could trigger a massive radiation release across the region “the risk is real.”
Some 430 people are believed to have been killed in Iran, most of them civilians after Israel launched air and missile strikes at Iranian military and nuclear sites,.
According to Israeli reports, 25 people have been killed and over 1,300 injured by Iranian missile strikes.
Many people are sleep-deprived after 10 days of Israeli strikes in Iran and afraid that they have nowhere to go.
Testimonies shared indicate that internet access is extremely limited and that people are lining for hours to stock up on food and fuel.
“Even bread has been scarce at times,” said one Iranian national, who noted that many of those with dual nationality have been leaving the country.
The crisis has also increased problems for the elderly and infirm – “not for lack of money, but because their caregivers have disappeared”, she added.
In Israel civilians impacted by Iranian missile attacks have spoken of their shock at the destruction of their homes, echoing calls for peace in Iran.
“We came to try to evacuate some equipment left at our flats, which were totally collapsed by the direct heat of the missile yesterday morning,” one Israeli resident said in an online testimony published on Monday. “So, that’s it, the entire house is gone.”
Another resident explained that he was returning to his apartment which had been “totally destroyed by a missile landed under my window – and luckily I wasn’t here.”
IAEA safety experts have warned that armed attacks on nuclear infrastructure enrichment facilities or reactors risk damaging containment systems and could lead to the release of dangerous levels of radioactive or toxic materials.
Mr. Grossi told the Board of Governors “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.”
IAEA said that well-fortified facilities are not immune from structural or systemic failure when subjected to extreme external force, such as missile strikes.
The potential consequences include localized chemical exposure and far-reaching radioactive contamination, depending on the nature of the site and the strength of its defensive barriers.
IAEA noted that at enrichment or conversion facilities, the primary hazard often comes from uranium hexafluoride. If struck and exposed to moisture, this radioactive compound of uranium and fluorine can break down into hydrogen fluoride – a highly toxic gas that can cause burns and respiratory damage.
The agency said that radiation risks at these enrichment sites are typically lower than at reactors, although chemical hazards can have severe local impacts.
The reactor cores and spent-fuel pools hold large inventories of fission products which result from nuclear reactions, such as iodine-131 and cesium-137. A breach here could result in large-scale radioactive dispersal, especially if cooling systems fail.
Iran’s nuclear programme includes a range of facilities with varying risk profiles, reports indicate.
The Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran’s only operational commercial reactor, remains undamaged but contains significant radioactive material under IAEA safeguards.
Research reactors including the Tehran facility are smaller, while the Arak heavy-water reactor, struck recently, held no nuclear material at the time, IAEA stated.
The agency emphasized that enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow are fortified and underground, limiting the spread of radiation despite recent damage.
The conversion sites such as Isfahan involve uranium hexafluoride (UF₆), raising the risk of toxic chemical exposure if containment is breached.
International legal frameworks and UN resolutions strongly prohibit military action against peaceful nuclear facilities.
IAEA stressed that any such strike endangers not just national safety, but regional and global stability.
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