\n<\/p>\n
Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammed Eslami on Monday wrote a letter to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director Rafael Grossi that accused the IAEA of ignoring the danger from U.S. and Israeli airstrikes near Iran\u2019s nuclear sites, including its operational nuclear reactor at Bushehr.<\/span><\/p>\n Eslami <\/span>told<\/span><\/a> Grossi that Bushehr has been attacked four times during Operation Epic Fury, most recently on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n Eslami denounced the attacks as breaches of international law, claimed they could inflict \u201cirreparable consequences\u201d on civilians and the environment by damaging the reactor, and criticized the \u201clack of decisive action\u201d by Grossi and his agency.<\/span><\/p>\n Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi <\/span>wrote<\/span><\/a> a similar letter to Grossi and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on April 3, denouncing U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran\u2019s \u201cpeaceful\u201d nuclear infrastructure as \u201cunlawful\u201d and \u201cextremely alarming.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As with Eslami\u2019s letter, Araghchi said Grossi and Guterres \u201cflatly failed from even condemning the illegal attacks, let alone undertaking effective measures within their mandate to prevent their recurrence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Araghchi wrote:<\/span><\/p>\n I reiterate my warning that, should the United Nations Security Council and the Board of Governors of the IAEA remain indifferent in the face of manifest illegal attacks against Iran\u2019s safeguarded nuclear facilities, the Member States may lose confidence in the United Nations, the Agency, and the broader non-proliferation regime will be further eroded.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cThe consequences of such inaction would not be confined to Iran,\u201d he threatened.<\/span><\/p>\n Araghchi also sputtered with outrage at Grossi for demanding more oversight of Iran\u2019s supposedly \u201cpeaceful nuclear program,\u201d and for <\/span>criticizing<\/span><\/a> Iran\u2019s lack of compliance with IAEA inspectors, which ultimately led to the U.S. and Israel using force to dismantle Iran\u2019s nuclear program.<\/span><\/p>\n Contrary to Eslami\u2019s letter of complaint, Grossi did <\/span>say<\/span><\/a> on Monday<\/span> that airstrikes near the Bushehr nuclear plant \u201cpose a very real danger to nuclear safety and must stop.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Grossi warned that continued airstrikes near Bushehr \u201ccould cause a severe radiological accident with harmful consequences for people and the environment in Iran and beyond.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA nuclear facility and surrounding areas should never be struck,\u201d he declared.<\/span><\/p>\n U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> on Monday he was \u201calarmed\u201d by President Donald Trump\u2019s threat to strike Iranian \u201cpower plants, bridges, and other infrastructure, should Iran not agree to a deal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOnce again, the Secretary-General reaffirms that it\u2019s high time for the parties to stop this conflict, as there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of international disputes,\u201d Guterres spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAny attack on civilian infrastructure is a violation of international law, and a very clear one,\u201d Dujarric said.<\/span><\/p>\n World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also <\/span>criticized<\/span><\/a> U.S.-Israeli strikes near Iran\u2019s nuclear reactor on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI join the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] in raising the alarm again over the safety of nuclear facilities in Iran. The latest incident involving the Bushehr nuclear power plant is a stark reminder: a strike could trigger a nuclear accident, with health impacts that would devastate generations,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Russia\u2019s state nuclear power company, Rosatom, <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> it evacuated 198 of its staffers from the Bushehr nuclear plant after the most recent airstrike.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n