Very significant damage expected at Iran's Fordow site after US attack: UN

No party has yet been able to fully assess the extent of the damage done to the underground facility at Fordow, said the IAEA head

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said on Monday that “very significant damage” is expected at Iran’s underground nuclear facility at Fordow following a US airstrike over the weekend using advanced bunker-buster bombs.

 

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi made the remarks during a press briefing in Vienna. 

 

“Given the explosive payload utilised and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred,” Grossi said. He added that neither the IAEA nor any other party has yet been able to fully assess the extent of the underground damage at Fordow. 

 

Grossi also called for maximum restraint, saying: “We must return to negotiations.” He emphasised that IAEA inspectors, which plays the role of “the guardians on behalf of the NPT”, must be allowed back into Iran’s nuclear sites to account for stockpiles of uranium, including the 400 kilograms enriched to 60 per cent. 

“No one can say at present how bad the underground damage at Fordow is,” Grossi said. He noted that the IAEA has requested access to Iran's nuclear sites to verify the integrity of safeguarded materials and installations. 

 

Earlier assessments by the agency had indicated damage to several buildings at the Isfahan site, some of which may have housed nuclear material. “The latest attacks early this morning damaged other buildings in Esfahan. In addition, we have established that entrances to underground tunnels at the site were impacted,” Grossi said.

 

Based on its analysis of the available information, the IAEA has assessed that the Isfahan complex has sustained extensive additional damage, the UN had said in a statement on Sunday. The site, already hit multiple times by Israel since it began targeting Iranian nuclear facilities on June 13, was struck again during the latest attacks.  The extent of damage to the Fordow uranium enrichment facility—constructed deep within a mountain in central Iran—remains unclear due to its underground structure and the type of munitions used in the strike. 

The IAEA chief said he had informed Iran that any transfer of nuclear material from a safeguarded facility to another location must be declared. “Iran informed me in a letter on June 13 that it will take ‘special measures’ to protect nuclear equipment and materials,” he said. Iranian regulatory authorities also have informed the UN agency that there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels following the strikes on the three facilities.

 

US airstrikes hit three Iranian nuclear facilities

The US military on June 22 struck three Iranian nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. US President Donald Trump hailed the strikes as a “historic moment for the United States of America, Israel, and the world,” and urged Iran to “end the war”. US officials have also repeatedly stated that the strikes were not aimed at harming but a targeted campaign against Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure. 

In a statement on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “We have completed our very successful attack on the three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the world that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!” 

The US president later reshared a post claiming the Fordow nuclear site “is gone”. 

Grossi reiterated on Monday that the IAEA remains committed to its monitoring mission and warned that transparency is crucial to any path back to diplomacy.