The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), said on Sunday that there had been no reported “increases in off-site radiation levels at the three Iranian nuclear sites” targeted in US strikes.
It marks the IAEA’s first public comments since the US attacks.
Iran has been increasingly critical of the IAEA since the conflict with Israel erupted, and Iranian officials have accused the agency of being complicit in the US strikes, without providing evidence. The IAEA maintains it is a neutral global watchdog.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is continuing to closely monitor and assess the situation regarding the Israeli attacks on nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic of Iran, providing frequent public updates about developments and their possible consequences for human health and the environment, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.
Since the military attacks began, the IAEA has been reporting on damage at several of these facilities, including at nuclear-related sites located in Arak, Esfahan, Natanz and Tehran, and their potential radiological impact.
“The IAEA is monitoring the situation very carefully,” he said. “The IAEA is ready to respond to any nuclear or radiological emergency.”
IAEA inspectors remain present in Iran, ready to be deployed at nuclear sites when possible, even though the number of Agency staff has been reduced somewhat in light of the security situation, Director General Grossi said.
He added: “The Agency is and will remain present in Iran. Safeguards inspections in Iran will continue as required by Iran’s safeguards obligations under its NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) Safeguards Agreement, as soon as safety and security conditions allow.”
Meanwhile, Iranian Ambassador Amir Saeed Iravani , in a letter to UN -dated Friday, June 20, criticized Grossi’s public remarks ahead of Israel’s recent military aggression against the Islamic Republic, calling them a “clear and serious breach of the principle of impartiality” that should govern the responsibilities of his office, according to Iran’s Mehr News Agency.
Ambassador Iravani argued that Grossi’s statements run counter to the legal duties and obligations enshrined in the IAEA Statute, particularly in moments of heightened international tension. He cited the IAEA chief’s press conference on June 9, 2025—following the Board of Governors meeting—during which Grossi responded to explicit Israeli threats against Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities by referencing only Israel’s so-called “concerns,” while deliberately omitting any reference to binding prohibitions under international law.
Iravani emphasized that Grossi failed to mention the IAEA’s own General Conference Resolutions GC(34)/RES/533 and GC(44)/RES/444, which categorically prohibit any threat or use of force against nuclear facilities dedicated to peaceful purposes. This omission, he wrote, constituted “a blatant dereliction of the legal principles” under Grossi’s mandate.
In his closing remarks, Iravani stressed that the Director General’s continued passivity in response to Israel’s aggressive actions amounts to de facto complicity through inaction—an unprecedented failure in the history of the Agency.