- Israel successfully targeted Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, according to the IAEA.
- The IAEA confirmed direct impacts on the underground enrichment facility at Natanz.
- Damage to Natanz's centrifuges likely occurred, but Fordow remains largely unaffected.
Israel's precision strikes on one of Iran's most secretive and secure nuclear facilities - the Natanz nuclear complex, located deep underground, have hit the target, the UN's nuclear body said on Tuesday. It was earlier believed that this was a facility that Israel may not be able to target successfully due to its location being beneath the Earth's surface.
But the International Atomic Energy Agency or IAEA said that as per the data available to it, Israel has directly hit the underground section of the Natanz uranium enrichment plant.
In a post on social media platform X, the IAEA said, "Based on continued analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery collected after Friday's attacks, the IAEA has identified additional elements that indicate direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls at Natanz."
It added that there was "no change to report" at Iran's two other major nuclear sites, Isfahan and Fordow.
The IAEA went on to say that it is still assessing the situation. Due to the escalating conflict, officials from the IAEA have not been able to inspect the site directly. For now, it is assessing the situation through high-resolution satellite imagery as well as feedback it is getting from its sources at ground-zero.
The global nuclear watchdog had previously confirmed that an overground enrichment facility at the same complex was already destroyed in a previous strike. Its chief Rafael Grossi had said on Monday that the centrifuges at the underground uranium facility have most-likely been damaged due to the damage caused to the plant's power supply during Friday's strike.
Mr Grossi had also said that it seems that there has been little to no damage at Iran's Fordow nuclear facility, where enrichment had surpassed 60 per cent, which is very close to the 90 per cent requirement for weapons production.
The Fordow plant is situated deep inside a mountain and is virtually impossible to hit by anything except US' most-advanced bunker buster - a 14,000 kg bomb that only a US B-2 bomber can drop.
