IAEA reports on safety status of Iran’s nuclear facilities

June 18, 2025, 9:31AMNuclear News
The IAEA director general prepares to deliver his update. (Photo: Dean Calma/IAEA)

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has shared his concerns about the Iran-Israel conflict with the agency’s board of directors.

“Military escalation threatens lives, increases the chance of a radiological release with serious consequences for people and the environment and delays indispensable work towards a diplomatic solution for the long-term assurance that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon,” Grossi said on June 16. “Consistent with the objectives of the IAEA and its statute, I call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation.”

Grossi said IAEA inspectors will remain in Iran and that inspections will resume as soon as it is safe. He stressed the importance of the agency getting accurate information about the nuclear facilities so that the international community can prepare an effective response and provide necessary assistance.

A closer look: IAEA officials reported the following status updates on Iran’s nuclear sites, based on the information available as of Monday.

  • Natanz fuel enrichment plant: There has been no additional damage at the site since Friday’s attack that destroyed the aboveground part of the pilot fuel enrichment plant where Iran was producing uranium enriched up to 60 percent U-235. The facility’s electrical substation, a main electric power supply building, and emergency power supply and backup generators have been destroyed. While no physical damage has been reported in the underground portion of the plant, the loss of power to the cascade hall may have damaged the centrifuges. The level of radioactivity outside Natanz remains unchanged at normal levels, but there is both radiological and chemical contamination within the plant.
  • Esfahan nuclear site: Friday’s attack damaged four buildings—the central chemical laboratory, a uranium conversion plant, the Tehran reactor fuel manufacturing plant, and the UF4 to EU metal processing facility—but off-site radiation levels remain stable.
  • Fordow fuel enrichment plant: No damage was reported at the plant, the partially constructed Khondab heavy water reactor, the Bushehr nuclear power plant, or the Tehran research reactor.

Background: In June 2024, the IAEA censured Iran for its failure to cooperate with access requests and materials needed to confirm that the nation is adhering to nuclear safeguard obligations. The agency identified two sites near Tehran that had traces of processed uranium with no “technically credible” explanations for the presence of uranium particles at these undeclared locations.

Then last fall, Israeli and U.S. officials confirmed that Israel attacked and destroyed a facility in Iran believed to be used for nuclear weapons research.


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