IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that the agency has found no evidence that recent US and Israeli military strikes have struck or damaged Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to Reuters.
During a session of the United Nations nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors on Monday, Iran’s representative to the agency asserted that one of the country’s key nuclear sites had been hit in an attack the previous day.
Among the principal justifications raised by both Israel and the United States for their strikes on Iran has been their concerns over nuclear program. The two countries believed that Tehran was approaching a capability to produce an atomic bomb.
Current Wave of Strikes
The current campaign seems to have largely spared what remains of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure following the US-Israeli strikes in June.
“We have no indication that any of the nuclear installations … have been damaged or hit,” Grossi said during the meeting.
The basis for that assessment remains uncertain, as Grossi also affirmed that the International Atomic Energy Agency has been unable to reach its counterparts in Iran.
Since the US-Israel strikes that attacked Iran in June, the IAEA officials have not been allowed to inspect the facilities.
“Efforts to contact the Iranian nuclear regulatory authorities … continue, with no response so far. We hope this indispensable channel of communication can be re-established as soon as possible,” he said.
Apart from this, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, told reporters outside the closed-door meeting that the sprawling nuclear complex at Natanz had been attacked.
“Again, they attacked Iran’s peaceful, safeguarded nuclear facilities yesterday,” Najafi said. Asked by Reuters which facilities were hit, he replied: “Natanz” and left.
The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, targeting its leadership and triggering a new conflict in the Middle East.
In response, Iran also launched a counterattack in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi as a retaliatory move, while launching barrages of missiles and drones toward Israel.
One of these strikes had killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His killing has raised critical questions concerning Iran’s future.
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