Direct impacts indicated on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility: IAEA

Vienna: Additional elements have been identified that indicate direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls at Iran’s Natanz, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday.

The finding was based on continued analysis of high resolution satellite imagery collected following Friday’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Israel, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on social media platform X.

“No change to report at (Iran’s nuclear facilities) Esfahan and Fordow,” the IAEA added.

In its statement published on Monday, the IAEA noted there has been no indication of a physical attack on the underground cascade hall containing part of the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant and the main Fuel Enrichment Plant.

No damage has been seen at the site of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. At the Esfahan nuclear site, four buildings were damaged in Friday’s attack: the central chemical laboratory, a uranium conversion plant, the Tehran reactor fuel manufacturing plant, and the UF4 to EU metal processing facility, which was under construction. As in Natanz, off-site radiation levels remain unchanged, according to the Monday statement.

Meanwhile, Xinhua news agency reported that two loud explosions were heard in central and northern Tehran on Tuesday as per local eyewitnesses as Israel continued its bombardment of the Iranian capital for a fifth consecutive day.

There was no immediate information on the cause or exact locations of the blasts.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli Air Force would target “very significant targets, strategic targets, targets of the regime and infrastructure” in Tehran. He added that evacuation warnings would be issued to residents near the strike zones.

Speaking about Iran’s nuclear programme, Katz said the underground Fordow facility remains “an issue that will certainly be addressed.” He claimed that Israeli forces are “on the verge of destroying” more than 10 nuclear-related sites in Tehran, citing the Israeli Air Force’s aerial superiority in the region.

Separately, a fire broke out Tuesday at the headquarters of Iranian state television in Tehran, the broadcaster said, following an Israeli strike a day earlier that severely damaged the building and killed three people.

“The smoke seen at the Iranian radio and television building is due to a fire that reignited because of the wind,” state television reported.

The deadly aerial conflict between the Islamic Republic and Israel has entered its fifth day, with at least 244 people killed in Iran and 24 in Israel. The escalation was triggered by Israel’s surprise airstrikes across Iran on Friday.

IANS