UN watchdog voices ‘deep concern’ as Iran reports new attacks on nuclear plant
UN Watchdog Expresses Concern Over Fourth Attack on Bushehr Nuclear Plant
Iran’s Bushehr nuclear facility has suffered a fourth assault this conflict, according to officials. The attack resulted in one worker’s death, as per the Atomic Energy Organisation. Iran attributes the strike to the US and Israel, though neither has confirmed their involvement. Bushehr, the country’s sole active nuclear plant, was developed with Russian assistance.
“No increase in radiation levels was reported,” it wrote on X. “Nuclear power plant sites and nearby areas must never be attacked,” the IAEA added, urging “maximum military restraint” to prevent a nuclear incident.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear oversight body, received notice of the strike and voiced “deep concern”. The agency emphasized that nuclear sites and surrounding zones must never be targeted, calling for restraint to avoid catastrophe.
On March 27, US President Donald Trump declared a 10-day halt on energy plant strikes, giving Iran time to “make a deal”. However, he later reiterated his threat on Truth Social, warning that “all Hell will reign down on them” if Iran didn’t meet the deadline or reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Iran has persisted in launching missiles at Gulf States, Iraq, and Israel, with intercepted debris causing damage. Both Iranian and US forces are searching for a missing American crew member after an F-15 was shot down on Friday. A pilot was rescued by US media reports.
The Iranian government noted that the plant’s main components remained undamaged, and operations were “not affected”. Moscow evacuated many staff, with Rosatom’s head, Alexei Likhachev, announcing the start of the evacuation of 198 people that morning.
A local Iranian official reported that the Mahshahr petrochemical complex and Bandar Imam company in southwestern Iran were also targeted. Five individuals were injured. The Science Minister, Hossein Simai Sarraf, mentioned over 30 universities across the nation have been hit by strikes since the war began.
“A civilised country, a civilised government never targets institutions of knowledge, laboratories or research centres,” he said, visiting Shahid Beheshti University, which was attacked on Friday.
Iran’s nuclear program has long been a source of international disputes, leading to broad sanctions. The US-Israeli conflict with Iran began on February 28, two days after the third round of indirect nuclear talks in Geneva. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that a major accident would “end life” in Gulf Arab states allied to the US, referencing Western outrage over the Zaporizhzhia plant in Ukraine. He stated, “Remember the Western outrage about hostilities near Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine? Israel-U.S. have bombed our Bushehr plant four times now.”
