Natanz underground enrichment plant suffered direct impacts, says IAEA

VIENNA: An Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear complex at Natanz directly hit the underground uranium enrichment plant there, the UN nuclear watchdog said Tuesday, revising its assessment after initially reporting it had been hit only indirectly.

Since Israel's launched wide-ranging attacks on Iran on Friday, IAEA has been providing updates on its assessment of the damage to nuclear sites, although it has not been able to carry out inspections.

IAEA had previously said an above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Natanz was destroyed but the larger underground plant was not directly hit, although IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday its centrifuges had very likely been badly damaged by a strike on the plant's power supply.

On Tuesday, it said: "Based on continued analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery collected after Friday's attacks, IAEA has identified additional elements that indicate direct impacts on underground enrichment halls at Natanz." It said there was "no change to report" at two other major nuclear sites, Isfahan and Fordow. Grossi had said Monday there was little or no apparent damage at Fordow, where Iran has enriched uranium up to 60%, close to the 90% weapons grade, at a plant dug deep into a mountain.

At Isfahan, several facilities were destroyed, including Iran's plant that converted uranium into a form into which it could be fed into centrifuges for enrichment, IAEA said. reuters