Latest news with #RafaelGrossi
News18
2 hours ago
- Politics
- News18
New Satellite Images Show Possible Repair Work At Iran's Fordow Nuclear Site After US Strikes
Last Updated: Fordow was one of the three key nuclear sites hit by the US military with the use of powerful GBU-57A "bunker-busting bombs" on June 21. After the US launched massive strikes at three Iranian nuclear sites last weekend, new satellite images have surfaced showing construction equipment, indicating possible repair work underway and efforts to dig out new access paths. The images by the US commercial satellite imaging company Maxar Technologies, which were obtained by Business Insider, showed new activity near the tunnel entrances, as well as the points where heavy US bombs struck Fordow over the weekend. One of the images showed excavators and bulldozers apparently moving dirt near craters and holes on the northern mountain ridge at Fordow. Other images showed construction equipment digging new roads to the facility, while engaging in efforts to repair damage on the main access road. The work indicates that Iran is possibly attempting to restore access to the underground site in order to assess the condition of it and its equipment, although US President Donald Trump has warned further strikes if Iran continues with its nuclear programme. 🔴🔴 Construction vehicles spotted on satellite images at Fordow nuclear facility — Conflict Radar (@Conflict_Radar) June 27, 2025 Fordow was one of the three key nuclear sites hit by the US military with the use of powerful GBU-57A 'bunker-busting bombs". The US used six B-12 bombers to use a dozen GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs in its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The Fordow nuclear site is an underground nuclear facility in Iran that is buried deep in the mountains, supposedly out of reach of Israeli missiles. The 13,600-kg US 'bunker-busting" bomb was the only munition capable of striking Fordow. Israel had appealed to the US to use the munitions. Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said centrifuges at the Fordow uranium enrichment plant in Iran are 'no longer operational" after the US attack. However, he said it would be 'too much" to assert that Iran's nuclear programme had been 'wiped out" after the Israeli and American bombing campaign, reported The New York Times. Iran has also acknowledged that its nuclear sites suffered 'extensive and serious" damage as a result of the US and Israeli bombing campaign. However, a CNN report cited a classified Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment suggesting that the strikes only set Iran's nuclear program back by a few months, rather than destroying it, which came under heavy backlash by the White House. Location : Tehran, Iran
Khaleej Times
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Radiation levels in Gulf are normal after Israel-Iran conflict: UN nuclear watchdog
The UN nuclear watchdog announced that radiation levels in the Gulf region remain normal following the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran. Howevem, in a statement published on Thursday, the IAEA's Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi clarified that the air war between the two countries severely damaged several nuclear facilities in Iran. Many Iranian nuclear sites like Bushehr and Fordow were targeted in Israeli and US strikes during the conflict which ended with a surprise announcement of ceasefire by US President Donald Trump early on Tuesday. Grossi stated that a 48-nation network would have detected a major radioactive release from any damaged nuclear power reactor. He said regional data were reported regularly to the IAEA through the International Radiation Monitoring System (IRMIS). 'From a nuclear safety perspective, Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and the Tehran Research Reactor represented our main concern as any strike affecting those facilities –including their off-site power lines– could have caused a radiological accident with potential consequences in Iran as well as beyond its borders in the case of the Bushehr plant," Gossi added. He said that this did not happen, and "the worst nuclear safety scenario was thereby avoided". He also stressed again that nuclear facilities should never be attacked, while pointing to the need for IAEA inspectors to continue their verification activities in Iran.
New York Post
7 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Iranian construction crews working at Fordow nuclear site after US strikes, satellite images show
Iranian construction crews are busy at work on the surface of the uranium enrichment facility in Fordow five days after the US nailed the underground fortress with 30,000 pound bunker buster bombs, new satellite images showed. Crews operated excavators, bulldozers, and other construction vehicles near the craters and punctures in the ground above the nuclear facility caused by the GBU-57 bunker buster bombs dropped by American B-2s last weekend, according to images captured by Maxar Technologies on Friday. 4 Satellite images released Friday show a flurry of activity on the surface above Fordow's uranium enrichment facility where workers are beginning to build a new road. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies/AFP via Getty Images Advertisement Other images showed apparent construction crews building access roads to the facility and rebuilding the damaged dirt road that led to the bunker laboratory that was targeted by the US as part of Israel's conflict with the Islamic Republic. Satellite images from before the attack showed similar construction activity on the surface of Fordow in the 24-hour period prior to the bunker-busters piercing the desert surface. Those vehicles appeared to be moving unidentified contents out of the facility to a location roughly half-a-mile away. Advertisement 4 Heavy machinery is being used at the site where several 30,000 pound bombs were dropped last Saturday. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies/AFP via Getty Images Officials have stated that there has been no nuclear fallout or contamination as a result of the strikes. Fordow's centrifuges are currently 'no longer operational' according to the UN's nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency. 'It has suffered enormous damage,' IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told Radio France Internationale on Thursday. Advertisement 'There is very, very, very considerable damage,' Grossi said. The extent of the destruction — and the amount of time the Iranian regime's program has been set back — have yet to be officially determined. 4 The United States started designing the GBU-57 bunker busters 15 years ago just to reach Iran's Fordow enrichment facility. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies/AFP via Getty Images President Trump has said the facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan have all been 'obliterated' and set back years — dismissing a leaked preliminary report from the Defense Intelligence Agency that suggested there was 'low confidence' the Iranian nuclear program had been set back by the massive strike. Advertisement Following that leak, CIA Director John Radcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard both backed up Trump and stated the strikes 'severely damaged' Iran's facilities. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth further pushed back against CNN and the New York Times for 'breathlessly' reporting the leaked preliminary 'low-confidence' assessment of the consequential strike. 4 Images released by the Pentagon showed the cavernous entry point of a bunker buster bomb on the surface of Fordow. Department of Defense Trump fumed about the leaks on social media, writing, 'The Fake News should fire everyone involved in this Witch Hunt, and apologize to our great warriors, and everyone else!' The Department of Justice is now seeking the origin of the leak and has promised to come down on the leaker with the full force of the law.
The National
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
Gulf radiation levels remain normal after Israel-Iran war, UN nuclear agency chief says
Radiation levels in the Gulf region remain normal after Iranian nuclear facilities were severely damaged in the Israel-Iran war, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Friday. Any significant radioactive release from a damaged nuclear power reactor would have been detected by the 48-nation International Radiation Monitoring System, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said in a statement. He said the main concerns were Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant and the Tehran research reactor as 'any strike affecting those facilities – including their off-site power lines – could have caused a radiological accident with potential consequences in Iran as well as beyond'. 'It did not happen, and the worst nuclear safety scenario was thereby avoided,' he said. Mr Grossi said on Wednesday that ensuring the resumption of IAEA inspections in Iran was his top priority as none had taken place since Israel began bombing on June 13. However, Iran's parliament approved moves on Wednesday to suspend such inspections.
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First Post
14 hours ago
- Politics
- First Post
Trump says Iran nuclear sites were 'obliterated,' supports IAEA inspection
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday that restoring inspections remained his top priority, noting that none had occurred since Israeli airstrikes began on June 13 read more President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would support allowing inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or another credible organization to examine Iran's nuclear sites following recent airstrikes. Speaking at a press conference in the White House briefing room, Trump stated his belief that the sites had been significantly damaged, describing them as 'obliterated.' He dismissed claims suggesting the destruction was less extensive than reported. Trump added that he would welcome inspections by the IAEA, the United Nations' nuclear monitoring body, to assess the condition of the targeted sites. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday that restoring inspections remained his top priority, noting that none had occurred since Israeli airstrikes began on June 13. However, Iran's parliament approved moves on Wednesday to suspend such inspections. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi indicated on Friday that Tehran may reject any request by the head of the agency for visits to Iranian nuclear sites. Trump also said he does not believe Iran wants to still seek a nuclear weapon after U.S. and Israeli bombing raids. He said Iran still wants to meet about the way forward. The White House had said on Thursday that no meeting between the U.S. and an Iranian delegation has been scheduled thus far.
