The head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has stated that Iran’s nuclear facilities have not suffered any additional damage in the attacks initiated by Israel since June 13. The IAEA and Grossi had previously reported that in the attack by Israel on Friday, the smallest of Iran’s three nuclear facilities was destroyed. The Natanz Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, which is located in the same area as the main nuclear facility in Isfahan, the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant, is an above-ground facility.
There is no evidence of damage to the underground Natanz Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant in the attack. However, the main power supply that provides energy to the facility has been damaged in the attack. As a result, the uranium enrichment centrifuges in the facility may have been damaged. However, the Fordow nuclear facility in Qom is not believed to have been damaged. It is a highly secure nuclear facility established in a mountain.
In a statement delivered to the IAEA Board of Governors, Grossi said that there had been no further damage to the area of the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant since Friday’s attack. He stated that in Friday’s attack, only the above-ground part of the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant was damaged. Grossi had previously said that four buildings at the nuclear facilities in Isfahan were damaged in the Israeli attacks. This included a “conversion” building that converts uranium to uranium hexafluoride, it was reported at the time. Uranium hexafluoride is used in centrifuges for uranium enrichment.
Elaborating on the details, Grossi said that in Isfahan, Friday’s attack damaged the main chemical laboratory of the facility, the uranium conversion plant, a nuclear reactor fuel production plant in Tehran, and a facility under construction for enriching uranium tetrafluoride and converting it to metallic uranium. Grossi further stated that the IAEA is active in Iran and will continue to be active in the future. He said that as soon as the situation improves, they will conduct inspections to monitor Iran’s nuclear facilities as required by the Non-Proliferation Treaty that Iran has signed.
