IAEA: Iran’s Nuclear Sites Undamaged By Apparent Israeli Attacks
The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that none of Iran’s nuclear sites have been damaged by an apparent Israeli attack on Iran allegedly carried out as retaliation for the 13 April missile and drone attacks.
In a brief statement posted on the United Nations nuclear watchdog’s X account, the IAEA said that it could “confirm” that no Iranian nuclear sites had been damaged and it was monitoring the situation “very closely”, with agency director general Rafael Grossi quoted as calling for “extreme restraint from everybody and reiterates that nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts”.
The apparent Israeli missile attacks during the early hours of Friday reportedly struck targets around Isfahan. The city in central Iran is home to several facilities used by Iran’s nuclear program, including Iran’s uranium conversion facility, as well as an air base and military drone factories.
Iranian state media has seemingly sought to downplay the attack, with state television saying that the explosions heard around Isfahan in the early hours of Friday were from the interception of three small quadcopter drones launched by “infiltrators” from Iranian territory.
A senior Iranian official that spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said that the drones were not an “external” attack. Previously, the Iranian state-linked Tasnim news agency also said that its sources were claiming that there had been no “attack from abroad” after the first claims of explosions around Isfahan were made.
Iranian authorities have previously claimed that similar small quadcopters were used in a January 2023 attack on a military industry factory in Isfahan, with an American official that spoke with Reuters at the time claiming that it appeared to have been conducted by Israel.
Israel’s intelligence services have long been rumored to possess extensive capabilities to infiltrate Iran, with Mossad’s 2018 theft of Iran’s “nuclear archive” documents one of very few publicly acknowledged operations.