IAEA says US strikes on Iran were very damaging

The United States' attack on Iran's nuclear facilities may have been more damaging than originally thought, according to a watchdog group that has said there was possible contamination at one nuclear facility.

President Donald Trump said after the strikes at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan facilities in Iran, that the nuclear facilities had been "completely and totally obliterated." The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a UN watchdog group, said that they found more damage beyond what the first satellite images at Fordow showed, according to the New York Post. Officials were able to identify additional bunker-busting strikes that were at the road leading up to the facility, as well as the entrance to the nuclear site underground.

There were 14 total bunker-buster bombs, weighing 30,000 pounds each, dropped on Fordow, which was buried deep underground. At Nanatz, the IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi said they found “two impact holes from the US 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 added. 

The US hit Natanz as well as Isfahan with cruise missiles from a nuclear-powered submarine. Although the IAEA said there may be chemical contamination, it said that there has been "no radiological impact" to the surrounding population.

Grossi has called on the Iranian government to allow the IAEA to inspect the damage completely. “Resuming cooperation with the IAEA is key to a successful diplomatic agreement to finally resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear activities,” he wrote in a letter. One part of the inspection would be to locate around 900 pounds of 60 percent enriched uranium that was not accounted for when Israel began its attack on June 13.