Arak heavy water reactor in Iran damaged in Israeli air strike, UN nuclear watchdog says

Published on 20/06/2025 - 15:22 GMT+2

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said connected Friday that an Israeli aerial onslaught astatine nan Arak dense h2o reactor successful Iran besides damaged cardinal buildings there, "including nan distillation unit."

In a station connected X, nan IAEA said it had accusation that nan reactor that had been deed was nether building and non-operational, and truthful contained nary atomic material.

The agency said that astatine coming it has nary accusation to corroborate wherever precisely nan analyzable had been hit.

IAEA main Rafael Grossi is scheduled to reside nan UN Security Council later connected Friday to update them connected nan business regarding Iranian atomic sites.

Iran’s atomic programme sits astatine nan bosom of nan existent conflict pinch Israel, presently successful its eighth day, pinch Israeli officials pledging to destruct what they spot arsenic an existential threat to their country.

Iran was antecedently taxable to an world atomic woody known arsenic nan Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which saw nan state person sanctions alleviation successful speech for strict limits connected its atomic activities.

During his first word successful office, President Donald Trump withdrew nan US from nan pact successful 2018, slamming it arsenic "the worst woody ever negotiated" and slapping caller sanctions connected Iran.

Since then, nan different signatories to nan woody person scrambled to support Iran successful compliance, but Tehran considers nan woody void and has continued pinch uranium enrichment, which astatine existent levels sits astatine 60%.

That's still technically beneath nan weapons-grade levels of 90%, but still acold supra nan 3.67% permitted nether nan JCPOA.

Iran maintains that its atomic programme is serene and purely for civilian purposes and that nan reactor astatine Arak will only beryllium utilized for investigation and development, aesculapian and business isotope production.

Israel, connected nan different hand, says Tehran is moving towards nan building of a atomic weapon, which could beryllium utilized against Israel.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said European diplomats will make a "comprehensive, negotiated and method connection of negotiation" to Iran successful Geneva connected Friday arsenic a cardinal consequence to nan "threat" represented by Iran’s atomic programme.

“No 1 tin earnestly judge that this threat tin beryllium met pinch (Israel's) existent operations alone," Macron said.

"Why? Because location are immoderate plants that are highly protected and because today, nary 1 knows precisely wherever nan uranium is enriched to 60%. So we request to regain power connected (Iran’s nuclear) programme done method expertise and negotiation," he added.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot will coordinate pinch UK and German counterparts - known collectively arsenic nan E3 countries - successful Geneva earlier they meet pinch Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

"It's perfectly basal to prioritise a return to important negotiations, including atomic negotiations to move towards zero (uranium) enrichment, ballistic negotiations to limit Iran’s activities and capabilities and nan financing of each violent groups and destabilisation of nan region that Iran has been carrying retired for respective years," Macron insisted.

Macron besides reiterated his telephone for Israel's strikes connected power and civilian infrastructures and civilian populations successful Iran to beryllium stopped.

"There's nary justification for that," he said.