IAEA Confirms Damage to Entrance Buildings at Iran’s Natanz Nuclear Facility Amid Ongoing Strikes
VIENNA, March 21, 2026 — The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has officially confirmed that the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility in Iran has sustained “recent damage” as a combined military offensive by U.S. and Israeli forces enters its fourth day.
According to a statement released by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog on Tuesday, the damage is localized at the entrance buildings of the underground Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP), a site that had previously suffered significant impact during a 12-day conflict in 2025.
This latest development follows a renewed campaign launched Saturday, which the Iranian Red Crescent Society reports has already resulted in at least 787 fatalities across the country. While Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, condemned the Sunday strike as an attack on “peaceful safeguarded nuclear facilities,” the IAEA’s Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC) continues to monitor the situation, noting that no elevation in radiation levels has been detected in neighboring countries thus far.
Despite the physical damage to the infrastructure, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi clarified that inspectors have not found evidence of a “systematic and structured program” to manufacture nuclear weapons in Iran.
However, Grossi expressed grave concern regarding Tehran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity—a level far exceeding civilian requirements—stating that the material is theoretically sufficient for more than ten nuclear warheads. Independent analysis from the Institute for Science and International Security, supported by satellite imagery, corroborated that two strikes targeted access points to the underground plant between Sunday and Monday.
While the U.S. and Israel maintain that the strikes are necessary to prevent nuclear escalation, Grossi warned that until Iran grants full access and resolves outstanding safeguard issues, the agency cannot provide definitive assurances that the nation’s nuclear program remains exclusively peaceful.(with the Input of Al jazeera, AP and Reuters)