IAEA Condemns Strike On Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant, Avoids Naming US Or Israel

Last Updated:March 18, 2026, 23:51 IST

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi urged restraint amid the ongoing war involving the US, Israel and Iran.

The UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday reported that Iran had informed it of a projectile impact at the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the country’s only operational reactor, but said no damage occurred.

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed on social media, “Although there was no damage to the reactor itself nor injuries to staff, any attack at or near nuclear power plants violates the seven indispensable pillars related to ensuring nuclear safety and security during an armed conflict and should never take place."

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi urged restraint amid the ongoing war involving the US, Israel and Iran, warning of the “real risk of a nuclear accident" if attacks continue near nuclear infrastructure.

Russia Condemns Attack

Russia, which helped build the Bushehr plant and still has personnel on site, called the strike as “completely unacceptable".

The Russian foreign ministry warned that attacks on the plant could threaten the lives of Russian staff and create “a real risk of a regional-scale radiological and environmental disaster."

“We strongly condemn the irresponsible and utterly unacceptable missile strike on the inner perimeter of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, just a few metres from an operational reactor," Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing.

Although the IAEA statement did not name any countries, Moscow specifically called on Israel and the United States to refrain from any reckless strikes on nuclear facilities.

The Bushehr plant in southwestern Iran was first connected to the national grid in 2011 and remains the Islamic Republic’s only active nuclear power reactor. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is strictly for peaceful purposes.

The plant has operated under close IAEA monitoring, even as the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran.

(With inputs from agencies)

News world IAEA Condemns Strike On Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant, Avoids Naming US Or Israel

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