BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 22. The nuclear non-proliferation regime that has underpinned international security for more than half a century is on the line, said Chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi, as he addressed the UN Security Council today, Trend reports.
“The dramatic events in Iran have become even more serious with last night's bombardments and the potential widening of the conflict,” he said.
Grossi emphasized the critical need for diplomacy. “We have a window of opportunity to return to dialogue and diplomacy. If that window closes, violence and destruction could reach unthinkable levels, and the global non-proliferation regime as we know it could crumble and fall.”
The IAEA director general also highlighted specific damage to Iranian nuclear sites, confirming that the Natanz enrichment facility had once again been targeted. “The fuel enrichment plant has been hit again with the U.S. confirming that it used ground-penetrating munitions,” Grossi said, noting that tunnel entrances used to store enriched material were also damaged.
He reported that Iran informed the IAEA there had been “no increase in off-site radiation levels at the three sites.” The Agency continues to monitor the situation and is in contact with Iranian regulators through its Incident and Emergency Centre.
Grossi underscored the urgency of restoring IAEA access to Iranian nuclear sites, especially to account for “the 400 kilograms of enriched uranium at 60 percent.” He reiterated that “armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with great consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the state which has been attacked.”
“We must return, as the Secretary-General just said, to the negotiating table and allow the IAEA inspectors—the guardians of the NPT—to go back to Iran’s nuclear sites,” Grossi stated, referring to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
He called for “maximum restraint,” warning that military action not only endangers lives but also delays a diplomatic resolution to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. “I am ready to travel immediately and to engage with all relevant parties to help ensure the protection of nuclear facilities and the continued peaceful uses of nuclear technology in accordance with the agency's mandate,” Grossi concluded.