The United Nations nuclear watchdog does not know the status of a new Iranian uranium enrichment facility buried in an underground complex near Isfahan because inspectors have yet to access the site, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday during a visit to Washington.
Grossi said Iran notified the IAEA about the facility in June and inspectors traveled to Isfahan later that month but were forced to cancel their first visit after the wider complex was hit at the start of a 12-day war with Israel, Reuters reported.
Because the inspection never took place, the agency cannot say whether the location is still an empty hall, has been prepared for centrifuge installation or already hosts machines used to enrich uranium, Grossi said.
He added that Iran informed the IAEA that a projectile struck near the country’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday evening, but reported no damage or injuries at the site, which houses Iran’s only operational nuclear power reactor.
