WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The International Atomic Energy Agency says US military strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites at the weekend has caused widespread damage to their infrastructure, but the Iranian regulatory authorities informed the nuclear watchdog that there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels at any of the three sites.
Based on an analysis of the information available to it, the IAEA assessed that there has been extensive additional damage at the sprawling Esfahan site, which had already been struck several times by Israel since it began targeting Iran's nuclear facilities on June 13, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement Sunday.
Buildings in Esfahan were damaged, and entrances to underground tunnels at the site were impacted.
The extent of damage to the Fordow uranium enrichment facility - built deep inside a mountain in central Iran - was not immediately possible to assess in view of its underground location and the penetrating nature of the bombs used.
'It is clear that Fordow was also directly impacted, but the degree of damage inside the uranium enrichment halls can't be determined with certainty,' Grossi said.
Iran's other enrichment site, Natanz, which has previously been extensively damaged, was again attacked during the strikes Saturday night with ground-penetrating munitions.
The IAEA chief urged the countries involved to urgently embark on a diplomatic path aimed at ending the hostilities.
President Donald Trump on Sunday claimed that US B-2 stealth bombers launched from Missouri 'obliterated' nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. In a message he posted on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said 'the hits were hard and accurate.'
We devastated the Iranian nuclear program,' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a press conference at the Pentagon, also noting that the operation did not target Iranian troops or citizens.
'Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,' Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the media.
After proceeding quietly and with minimal communication for 18 hours from the U.S. to the target area, the first of seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers dropped two 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator 'bunker buster' bombs at the Fordo site.
A U.S. submarine operating in Centcom's area of responsibility launched more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles at key infrastructure targets at the Isfahan site.
The initial mission package also included several decoy aircraft that flew west over the Pacific Ocean as 'a deception effort known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders here in Washington and [Centcom headquarters].'
When asked about the overall intent of the strikes, Hegseth said the mission was specifically focused on preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
'This mission was not, and has not been, about regime change,' he told reporters.
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