IAEA Warns of Nuclear Risk from Iran Strikes
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued a stark warning, stating it "cannot rule out" a potential radiological release from the ongoing military strikes in Iran. While no direct hits on nuclear facilities have been confirmed, the agency has intensified its monitoring and is calling for restraint, highlighting the extreme risks of the conflict triggering a nuclear safety incident.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated there is "no indication" nuclear facilities were hit, with regional monitors detecting no radiation spikes. However, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, contradicted this, claiming the Natanz uranium enrichment complex was attacked. Iran operates several key nuclear sites, including the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Tehran research reactor, and uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow. Following previous attacks, Iran has suspended its cooperation with IAEA inspectors at some of the most sensitive sites that were damaged. To protect its program, Iran has heavily fortified its nuclear sites, constructing facilities deep underground. Satellite imagery from February 2026 shows tunnel entrances at the Isfahan complex being completely buried with soil to protect against aerial bombardment. Some sensitive components are reportedly housed in facilities as deep as 800 meters. These tensions follow major U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025. Those attacks targeted sites at Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan, causing what Iran's Foreign Ministry admitted was "badly damaged" infrastructure. Prior to the 2025 strikes, Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short technical step from the 90% considered weapons-grade. Its total stockpile of enriched uranium was more than 40 times the limit permitted under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Attacks on nuclear facilities, particularly those under construction, have historical precedent. Israel bombed Iraq's Osirak research reactor in 1981, and Iraq repeatedly bombed Iranian plants during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. However, a direct military strike on a fully operational nuclear power reactor has never occurred.
