Kuwait City: Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi welcomed on Tuesday the latest announcement regarding the situation in Iran and stressed the need to resume the IAEA's indispensable safeguards verification work in Iran following the 12-day conflict.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Grossi has emphasized the importance of resuming cooperation with the IAEA to achieve a diplomatic resolution over Iran's nuclear activities. He expressed this in a letter to Iran's foreign minister Dr. Abbas Araghchi, proposing a meeting to discuss the way forward.
IAEA inspectors have remained in Iran throughout the conflict and are ready to resume their verification work at nuclear sites. This includes checking stockpiles of uranium, which were last verified to include over 400 kilograms enriched to 60 percent shortly before Israeli airstrikes on June 13. These strikes caused significant damage to several Iranian nuclear sites, including uranium conversion and enrichment facilities. Despite this, Grossi reported that there have been no off-site radiation level increases, though localized radioactive and chemical releases occurred at affected sites.
Grossi assured that the IAEA's data shows no radiological impact on neighboring countries' populations or environments. Furthermore, Iran's research and power reactors were not targeted during the attacks. The agency has, however, identified new impacts at Iran's Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites. At Fordow, U.S. bombing on Sunday damaged access roads and an entrance to the underground facility. At Natanz, two impact points were discovered above underground halls used for enrichment and storage, potentially causing localized contamination and chemical hazards.