Nuclear site in Iran's Isfahan not affected, says IAEA

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is saying that it has established through communication with Iranian officials that the nuclear site in the city of Isfahan has not been impacted by the Israeli attacks.

A fuel enrichment plant in Fordow had also not been affected as of yet, it said.

Israeli fighter jets reportedly bombed the nuclear site in the city of Natanz during its blitz early Friday morning, but the IAEA has said there is currently no increase in radiation levels at the site.

The agency has said that a nuclear plant in Bushehr was also not impacted.

Israel said it targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders on Friday at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.

Iranian media and witnesses reported explosions including at the country’s main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, while Israel declared a state of emergency in anticipation of retaliatory missile and drone strikes.

“We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded video message.

“Moments ago Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival. This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”

Israel targeted Iranian scientists working on a nuclear bomb, its ballistic missile program and its Natanz uranium enrichment facility, in an operation that would continue for days, he said.

An Israeli military official said Israel was striking “dozens” of nuclear and military targets including the facility at Natanz in central Iran. The official said Iran had enough material to make 15 nuclear bombs within days.

Alongside extensive air strikes, Israel’s Mossad spy agency led a series of covert sabotage operations inside Iran, Axios reported, citing a senior Israeli official. These operations were aimed at damaging Iran’s strategic missile sites and its air defence capabilities.