ReutersCentrifuges at Iran's Natanturan enrichment plant “were severely damaged if not completely destroyed” during the Israeli strike, the head of the world's nuclear watchdog said.
Rafael Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told the BBC that this was the result of a blackout caused by the attack on Friday, and that the factory's ground facilities had been “completely destroyed.”
The damage is likely caused despite the underground hall housing the centrifuge – a machine that enriches uranium – he said, not directly collide.
Four buildings were also damaged at the Isfahan site, he said, and no damage was found at the underground Ford enrichment plant.
Israel said it attacked nine Iranian nuclear scientists and killed nine Iranian nuclear scientists in order to halt the development of nuclear weapons.
In recent months, Iran has claimed that it has “taken steps to weaponize” the stockpile of enriched uranium, which can be used to fuel nuclear bombs as well as power plants.
On Sunday, Iran repeatedly said its nuclear program was peaceful, urging the IAEA's 35-nation boards to strongly condemn Israel's strike.
“Our evaluation is that this sudden loss of external force would likely have been severely damaged if the centrifuge was not completely destroyed,” Grossi told the BBC.
“The electrical equipment was almost completely damaged.”
Grossi told the IAEA's board early on Monday that his agency had been monitoring the situation in Iran very carefully, checking the state of the country's nuclear facilities and assessing radiation levels through communication with local governments.
He said the attack on Natantz on Friday destroyed the above-ground portion of the Pilot Fuel Concentration Plant (PFEP). There, centrifugal cascades produced uranium concentrated to 60% purity.
“There were no signs of a physical attack on the underground cascade holes, including PFEP and some of the major fuel enrichment plants. However, the loss of power to the cascade holes could have damaged the centrifuge there,” Grossi told the board.
He also said that there was radiologic and chemical contamination at the site, but the levels of external radioactivity remained at normal levels, with no changes in the level of the disease.
Israeli forces say the underground centrifuge hall was also damaged as part of an attack on Natantz, but no evidence was provided.
Grossi said four buildings were destroyed in another attack at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Centre on Friday – Central Chemical Institute, a uranium conversion plant, a Tehran reactor fuel production plant and a facility that converts into uranium metals under construction.
Like Natantz, off-site radiation levels remain the same, he added.
The Israeli military said the Isfahan strike “destroys the facilities that produce metal uranium, enriched uranium, laboratories and infrastructure to reconfigure additional infrastructure.”
Grossi told the BBC that Isfahan also has underground space, which does not appear to have been affected. ”
At the Fordo factory, Grossi said “it's very limited if the damage is registered.”
On Saturday, Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency said a spokesman for Iran's (AEOI) Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) said that “the damage to some areas of the Ford enrichment site is limited” following the Israeli attack.
However, the Israeli forces have not confirmed that they will carry out a strike there.
Grossi said no damage was found in the Fordo and Khondab Heavy Water Reactors under construction at the Khondab Heavy Water Reactor.
He urged all involved to exercise maximum detention and warned that military escalations have threatened lives and increased the chances of radiation release, which have serious consequences for people and the environment.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut told Tehranian diplomats on Saturday that the attack on Israeli nuclear facilities was a “blatant violation of international law” and that the IAEA board hoped to issue strong condemnation.
He also said Iranian missiles have been attacked by Israel since Friday.
Israeli military spokesman Brigjen Effy Deflin said Monday that its massive air campaign will “continue to act in pursuit of the operation's purpose to neutralize existential threats from Iran, from nuclear projects to regime missile arrangements.”
Iran's health ministry says the Israeli strike has killed more than 220 people since Friday. Israeli authorities say 24 Israelis have been killed by Iranian missiles.
Last Thursday, the IAEA board officially declared Iran in violation of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years. The resolution stated that Iran's “many failures” were “many failures” to provide the agency with a full response to undeclared nuclear material and nuclear activity.
Under the 2015 nuclear deal with the world power, Iran was not permitted to enrich uranium above 3.67% purity (the level required for commercial nuclear power plants), and for 15 years it was not permitted to carry out enrichment at Fordo.
However, US President Donald Trump abandoned the agreement during his first term in 2018, reinstating US sanctions, saying it was too few to stop the path to a bomb.
Iran retaliated by increasingly violating restrictions, particularly those related to enrichment. According to the IAEA, enrichment was resumed at Fordo in 2021, accumulating 60% of the enriched uranium enough to potentially produce nine nuclear bombs.