Grossi’s remarks marked the agency’s most explicit intervention in the conflict to date. He outlined two scenarios of existential danger at Bushehr: a direct strike on the plant’s reactor or the severing of power lines critical to cooling its core. Either outcome, he said, could provoke a meltdown, requiring mass evacuations and radiation monitoring across vast swaths of Iran and neighboring countries.
“Either scenario would necessitate protective actions, including evacuations and stable iodine distribution, extending to distances of several hundred kilometers,” Grossi cautioned. He also highlighted risks surrounding Tehran’s research reactor, noting attached dangers for the city’s population.
The IAEA chief condemned armed attacks on nuclear facilities as “unacceptable,” stressing that radioactive fallout could transcend national boundaries. His plea came after pressure from regional governments, including Gulf states and Central Asia, directly lobbying the IAEA over security concerns.
Escalating strikes and unyielding positions
Israel has targeted Tehran’s military infrastructure, including Iran’s Revolutionary Guard bases and nuclear facilities. One Israeli strike reportedly damaged a bunker housing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, though Iranian state media denied reports of his injury. Meanwhile, Iran’s proxy groups have threatened missile attacks on U.S. bases and vowed to block the Strait of Hormuz, a lifeline for 20% of global oil trade.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated to European diplomats in Geneva that negotiations remain suspended until “Israeli aggression stops.” Conversely, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz authorized intensified attacks on Tehran’s regime, calling the stalemate “non-negotiable.”
President Donald Trump delayed a decision on U.S. military involvement in the conflict until mid-July, stating, “I will make my decision in two weeks.” White House officials confirmed the U.S. retains “all options,” including tactical nuclear weapons, in contingency planning.
Diplomatic deadlock and economic volatility
European Union-led efforts to mediate between Iran and the U.S. face steep challenges, as Tehran refuses to meet with Washington amid ongoing airstrikes. British, French and German officials met Iranian counterparts in Geneva Friday but acknowledged progress was unlikely.
The Bushehr plant, built with Russian assistance, underscores the conflict’s entanglement of regional and global powers. The Communist Party of China has thus far refrained from military involvement, but Beijing’s muted response contrasts with its growing assertiveness in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait—a parallel highlighted in geopolitical circles.
For Israel, the campaign echoes its long-standing strategy of preemptive strikes to curb adversaries, including its 2018 sabotage of Iranian research sites. Yet Grossi’s alarm signals unprecedented international concern over the escalation’s human toll and ecological wreckage.
As delegations begin weekend talks in Geneva, the IAEA director’s stark warnings underscore the stakes. The Bushehr plant’s vulnerability—a test of global security norms—has united even historically adversarial nations in fearing a shared catastrophe.
The first flight to evacuate British citizens from Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories has taken off, the foreign secretary has said.David Lammy told the Commons that an RAF A400 took 63 UK nationals and dependants to Cyprus, as the conflict in the Middle East develops. Israel-Iran latest: Follow live updatesSky News understands that the UK's chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, was aboard the flight as he had been in […]
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