'Severe damage' done to Iran's Khondab heavy water production plant, says UN nuclear watchdog
Installation is 'no longer operational,' International Atomic Energy Agency says 2 days after US-Israeli airstrikes targeted the site
File photo from Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the country's only nuclear power plant, in Bushehr, Iran on April 28, 2024. Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which is one of the nuclear facilities that is frequently mentioned in international crises due to Iran's nuclear programme, currently produces 1000 megawatts of electricity per year.
Istanbul
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Sunday confirmed that "severe damage" has been done to the heavy water production plant in Khondab, Iran, saying that the facility is "no longer operational."
The confirmation was "based on independent analysis of satellite imagery and knowledge of the installation," the IAEA said on the US social media platform X.
The site does not contain any declared nuclear material, it added.
On Friday, the facility was targeted by US and Israeli airstrikes.
The entire region has been on alert since the US and Israel launched an air offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, which has so far killed over 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.
