IAEA confirms damage to Iran's Natanz nuclear site entrance, no radiation leak detected

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that entrance buildings at Iran's underground Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant sustained damage in recent strikes, based on satellite imagery analysis, the agency posted on X on March 3.

Earlier in the day, Iranian social media channels highlighted aerial bombing of mountains close to the Natanz site, later confirmed by IntelliNews. 

The IAEA, in its social media post, said no radiological consequences were expected, and no additional damage had been detected at the enrichment plant itself, which was already severely damaged during the June 2025 conflict between Iran and Israel.

Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation separately confirmed that the strike had caused structural damage to the facility's entrance in Isfahan province, but said there had been no radioactive leakage or contamination.

Natanz is Iran's primary uranium enrichment site, housing thousands of centrifuges in a hardened underground facility.

The plant has been a repeated target, having been struck during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025 and subjected to sabotage operations attributed to Israel in previous years.

The latest strike on the nuclear facility came as part of the wider US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that began on February 28, which has targeted military, political and infrastructure sites across 24 Iranian provinces.

The IAEA's confirmation that the underground enrichment hall itself was not affected will be closely watched by governments concerned about the risk of radiological contamination from strikes on nuclear facilities in an active conflict zone.