IAEA Chief Warns UN Security Council That Strike On Iran’s Bushehr Plant Would Create Nuclear Disaster

Update(1118ET): The head of the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, has issued fresh remarks before the Security Council on Friday, warning that Israeli strikes on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant is where the consequences of an attack could be most serious. The active and operating nuclear power plant currently hosts thousands of kilograms of nuclear material. He warns of potential nuclear disaster:

“Countries of the region have reached out directly to me over the past few hours to express their concerns, and I want to make it absolutely and completely clear — in case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity,” Grossi tells the UN Security Council.

More highlights from Grossi’s UN address via Al Jazeera:

• Countries of the region have reached out directly to me over the past few hours to express their concerns, and I want to make it absolutely and completely clear that, in case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment.
• Similarly, a hit that disables the only two lines supplying electrical power to the plant could cause its reactor core to melt, which could result in a high release of radioactivity to the environment.
• In their worst case, both scenarios would necessitate protective actions, such as evacuations and sheltering of the population, or the need to take stable iodine with a reach extending to distances from a few to several hundred kilometres. Radiation monitoring would need to cover distances of several hundred kilometres, and food restrictions may need to be implemented.
• Any action against the Tehran nuclear research reactor could also have severe consequences, potentially for large areas of the city of Tehran and its inhabitants.
• Armed attack on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with great consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the state which has been attacked. I, therefore, again call for maximum restraint.

Oil facilities are still getting hit by Israeli warplanes into Friday:

#Israeli warplanes has struck the oil refinery in #Ahvaz. pic.twitter.com/cJUgAZFYF3

— Barzan Sadiq (@BarzanSadiq) June 20, 2025

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A series of headlines, some contradictory, on where things stand with Iran nuclear negotiations with the US, sent oil sliding, then pumping, then extending losses again.

One senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran is ‘ready’ to discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment, while a quick follow-up headline said “zero enrichment will undoubtedly be rejected” by Iran “especially now, under Israel’s strikes.”

The official said “the role of European powers is now more prominent, as Tehran is unwilling to engage with US amid Israeli attacks. After that glimmer of hope offered for negotiations, the clarification that nothing has in fact change, sent oil dropping further Friday morning.

Oil prices declined on Friday but stayed on track for a third straight weekly increase, following the White House’s postponement of a decision regarding US participation in the Israel-Iran conflict:

Brent crude futures were down $2.57, or around 3.3%, to $76.28 a barrel by 1204 GMT but still set to gain nearly 3% on the week.

According to the latest from Bloomberg:

Israel will complete the task of preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons whether or not the US joins the operation, its energy minister said. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the only way to end the war is to “unconditionally” stop Israel.

And Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has clarified just before meeting European officials in Geneva related to EU efforts at mediate that “Iran is not prepared for negotiations with anyone while Israel continues its attacks.”

More Friday and overnight headlines…

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Geopolitics: Middle East War

• Israel will complete the task of preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons whether or not the US joins the operation, its energy minister said. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the only way to end the war is to “unconditionally” stop Israel, according to Bloomberg
• E3/EU-Iran meeting in Geneva expected to occur “this afternoon”, via WSJ’s Norman.
• Israeli Defence Minister Katz has ordered the military to increase attacks on Iranian regime targets within Tehran.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister says they will only hold nuclear talks in the E3 meeting.
• Russia’s Kremlin says dialogue with Ukraine continues expect to agree next week on a date for the next round of talks Ukraine is unpredictable, continue “special military operation”, though would prefer to reach goals by diplomatic needs.

US Involvement

• The White House said, “message directly from the President – based on the fact that there is a significant chance of negotiations with Iran in the near future – I will make a decision on whether to launch [an attack] in the next two weeks.”
• US President Trump had been briefed on both the risks and benefits of bombing Fordow and his mindset was that disabling it was necessary due to the risk of weapons being produced in a relatively short period of time, according to CBS.
• Broadcasting Authority, citing an Israeli source, reported that the US had asked Israel to defer its attack on the Fordow nuclear facility.
• Kann News reported that there was a “possible attack at Fordow”: according to sources, the US had asked Israel to wait until negotiations with Iran had been exhausted.
• US President Trump is to attend a National Security Meeting at 11:00 EDT on Friday.
• US law enforcement officials had stepped up surveillance of Iran-backed operatives in the US, according to CBS sources.
• The White House said Iran was able to produce a nuclear bomb within “a couple of weeks”.
• A White House official told Fox’s Heinrich that the US military had no doubt about the efficacy of bunker busters in eliminating the site at Fordow, and also denied that any options—including tactical nuclear weapons—had been taken off the table.
• The White House Press Secretary said there were no signs that China was getting involved militarily in Iran, according to Reuters.
• The US reportedly believed Iran would build a nuclear bomb if Supreme Leader Khamenei were assassinated and the Fordow facility was attacked, according to The New York Times.

Strikes

• There were reports of Israeli strikes in the Lavizan area of Tehran, where Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei was reportedly hiding in a bunker, according to i24 journalist Stein.
• An Israeli military spokesman said Israel had attacked the special forces headquarters of the internal security apparatus in Tehran within the last 24 hours, according to Reuters.
• Journalist Horowitz said on X that opposition sources were circulating “unconfirmed” reports claiming that the head of Iran’s military, Abdolrahim Mousavi, had been killed in an Israeli strike.
• The Fars News Agency said Iran had used a new generation of precision missiles in its attack on Israel on Thursday morning, according to Fars.
• The Norwegian Foreign Ministry said an explosion had occurred on Thursday evening in Tel Aviv at the residence of the Norwegian ambassador to Israel, according to Reuters.
• The Jordanian army said an explosives-laden drone had fallen in the Azraq area after it “fell short of its range,” according to Al Hadath.
• Iranian media reported that air defences were activated in Isfahan, according to Al Arabiya.

Diplomacy

• Britain, France, and Germany are to hold talks with Iran’s Foreign Minister on Friday in a last-ditch effort to avert an escalation of conflict in the Middle East and a possible US intervention, according to FT.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister had reached out to European foreign ministers, requesting a meeting with them on Friday, Jerusalem Post reported.
• Trump administration officials are pitching the president’s two-week timeline as an opportunity to allow diplomacy to play out. Special Envoy Witkoff and Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi had been in communication in recent days, though there were no plans for the two to meet yet, according to ABC.
• Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Witkoff will not attend the UK/France/Germany talks with Iran in Geneva on Friday, according to White House officials cited by NBC.
• An Iranian source denied reports of a phone call between Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi and US presidential envoy Witkoff following Israel’s aggression, according to Iran Nuances.
• The White House Press Secretary said they would see how the EU meeting with the Iranians went tomorrow, according to Reuters.
• US officials said no date had been set for a meeting between US and Iranian officials yet, according to Axios.

US Military and Deployment

• Over the next 10 to 14 days, there were expected to be two aircraft carriers in the Middle East and a third operating in the Mediterranean Sea, according to ABC.

Iranian Actions

• A senior IRGC official said that before the Israeli airstrikes, all enriched uranium had been transferred from the nuclear sites to secret hiding locations, according to i24 journalist Stein.
• Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, quoting an Iranian official, said intelligence had thwarted a major Israeli plot against Iranian Foreign Minister Araqchi in Tehran, according to Sky News Arabia.
• Iraq’s Hezbollah threatened to target US bases and close the Strait of Hormuz if Washington joined strikes on Iran, according to Al Hadath.
• An Israeli official said Iran could likely sustain the current rate of missile fire at Israel for up to five months, provided their missile launchers were not destroyed, according to NBC.
• Israel anticipated attacks from Iran’s proxies across the Middle East, according to Israel Channel 14.
• An Israeli intelligence official said the imminent collapse of the Iranian regime was far from the truth, according to NBC.

Geopolitics: Other

• A Japanese destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait after a Chinese jet approached it, according to Nikkei.
• China President Xi met with New Zealand PM Luxon in Beijing, according to CCTV.