US strikes on Iran nuke facilities caused more damage than first thought — as watchdog reveals possible contamination
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog group revealed even more damage from the US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites after taking a closer look — including possible chemical contamination at one facility.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said Tuesday that the latest satellite images from the Fordow and Natanz facilities showed additional damage, beyond what the agency found in the first-pass review of the sites.
At Fordow, the mountain fortress just south of Tehran, officials identified additional strikes at the road leading up to the facility, as well as one of the entrances.
The US dropped 14 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on the facility, which includes equipment buried 300 feet underground.
Meanwhile, at Natanz, the IAEA identified “two impact holes from the U.S. strikes above the underground halls that had been used for enrichment as well as for storage.”
“Based on its knowledge of what these halls contained, the IAEA assesses that this strike may have caused localized contamination and chemical hazards,” Grossi warned.
