NEW YORK – The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has issued a grave warning that an Israeli attack on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could trigger a catastrophic nuclear incident, with devastating consequences for the entire Middle East.
Speaking at a United Nations Security Council session, Grossi voiced deep concern over the escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran, particularly after a week of Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian infrastructure including areas near nuclear sites. While he confirmed that no radiation leaks have been recorded so far, he cautioned that a direct strike on the Bushehr reactor could have far-reaching and irreversible consequences.
“Bushehr is a fully civilian nuclear reactor containing thousands of kilograms of nuclear material,” Grossi said.
“An attack on the facility could result in a significant release of radiation, endangering lives and the environment across the region.”
Grossi revealed that several countries in the Middle East had reached out to the IAEA, expressing their serious concern over the growing risk of a nuclear accident. He also warned that even a targeted strike on power lines supplying electricity to the facility could lead to a reactor meltdown, a scenario he described as “extremely dangerous.”
“In the worst-case scenario, mass evacuations would be required within hundreds of kilometers of the site,” Grossi added. “Key Gulf cities could be affected, and emergency measures such as iodine distribution and food supply restrictions would have to be enforced.”
The Bushehr nuclear power plant was initially commissioned in the 1970s by Iran’s then pro-Western monarchy and was later completed in the 1990s with Russian assistance.
Grossi urged all the parties to pursue a diplomatic solution and expressed his willingness to personally engage in negotiations. He reiterated that the IAEA’s robust inspection system can provide assurance that Iran is not developing nuclear weapons.
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