Nuclear Watchdog Warns of ‘Serious Catastrophe’ if Israel Targets Iran’s Bushehr Reactor

Nuclear Watchdog Warns of ‘Serious Catastrophe’: The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is the Iranian nuclear site where the consequences of an attack could be most severe, the United Nations nuclear watchdog chief warned on Friday.

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the remarks during a UN Security Council session via video link, noting that countries in the region had contacted him over the past few hours to express deep concern.

While no radioactive release has yet been detected as of now, an attack on Bushehr could have “catastrophic consequences,” Rafael Grossi, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Friday, reported AFP

“Countries of the region have reached out directly to me over the past few hours to express their concerns, and I want to make it absolutely and completely clear — in case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity,” Grossi cautioned. Follow Iran-Israel war live updates.

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The fear regarding a potential nuclear disaster is on the rise as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the campaign against Iran’s nuclear program. “We will fight as long as necessary to destroy Iran’s nuclear program,” he declared, calling it an “existential danger.”

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

However, Tehran remains the only non-nuclear-weapon state enriching uranium up to 60% — a level just short of weapons-grade. This continues to alarm both Israel and Western powers.

The conflict, which started on June 13 after Israel's surprise attack, has escalated rapidly. Tel Aviv has targeted Iran’s nuclear and military sites, top generals, and scientists.

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“The IAEA can guarantee through a water-tight inspection system that nuclear weapons will not be developed in Iran,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the conflict between Israel and Iran.

“Iran’s uranium stockpiles remain under safeguards,” said Grossi, urging a resumption of IAEA inspections.

Iran’s nuclear facilities and scientists are a primary target of Israel’s operation launched last Friday. “We will not let the world’s most dangerous regime get the world’s most dangerous weapon,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X on Wednesday.

In a worst-case scenario, evacuations and orders to take shelter would need to be issued for areas within several hundred kilometers of Bushehr, which would include population centers in Gulf Arab monarchies, a major artery of the global economy.

The population would also need to take iodine and may see restrictions in food supply, Grossi said.

Construction on Bushehr began in the 1970s as the pro-Western shah sought to develop civilian nuclear power.

German scientists initially worked on the plant, but since the 1990s, the Islamic Republic has worked with Russia to develop and maintain Bushehr.

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