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VIENNA — There appear to have been "direct impacts" on the underground part of Iran's Natanz nuclear site during Israel's attacks, the UN's atomic watchdog said on Tuesday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had initially said Monday it had "no indication" to that effect, estimating that only the above-ground part of the uranium enrichment plant had been damaged, along with the electrical infrastructure.
However, "based on continued analysis of high resolution satellite imagery collected after Friday's attacks, the IAEA has identified additional elements that indicate direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls at Natanz," the UN body said on X.
The IAEA has not provided further details at this stage.
Natanz operates nearly 70 cascades of centrifuges at its two enrichment plants, one of which is underground. A cascade is a series of centrifuges -- the machines used to enrich uranium.
Tehran has consistently denied seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, but had been enriching uranium to 60 per cent -- far above the 3.67-per cent limit set by a 2015 agreement with major powers that the United States and Iran have since largely abandoned.
Uranium enriched to between three and five per cent is used to fuel nuclear power plants for electricity production.
Uranium enriched up to 20 per cent can be used to produce isotopes for medical uses, for example in diagnosing certain cancers.
To build a bomb, enrichment must be pushed to 90 percent.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said he was willing to immediately travel to Iran, where agency inspectors are present.
Qatar has been monitoring radiation levels in the Gulf as Israeli air strikes pound Iranian nuclear facilities, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.
"We are monitoring this on a daily basis," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told a news conference.
"We have nothing to be concerned about right now, but obviously prolonged escalation will have unpredictable consequences."
Israel launched an unprecedented air campaign against Iran's nuclear infrastructure on Friday, triggering deadly missile exchanges between the arch foes, which are now in their fifth day.
"We have to emphasise, when we are talking about the waters of the Gulf, it's the main source of water for all of us here in the region," Ansari said.
"The international community has to make it very clear that any targeting of nuclear facilities, any targeting of fuel or energy facilities in this region, would have ramifications that are unknown to us in the Gulf."
Iran has a nuclear power plant at Bushehr on the Gulf coast, though its uranium enrichment facilities, which have been targeted by Israel, lie hundreds of kilometres inland.
How much damage has Israel inflicted on Iran's nuclear programme?
Experts told AFP that while Israel attacks had caused some damage to Iran's nuclear programme, they are unlikely to have delivered a fatal blow.
Israel's operation included strikes on Iran's underground uranium enrichment sites at Natanz and Fordow, and on its Isfahan nuclear site, the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said, citing Iranian officials.
A key, above-ground component of Iran's Natanz nuclear site has been destroyed, including its power infrastructure, the IAEA reported Monday.
The UN watchdog added Tuesday that satellite images indicated possible "direct impacts" on the underground section of the plant, where thousands of centrifuges are operating to enrich uranium.
At the underground Fordow enrichment plant, Iran's second uranium enrichment facility, the IAEA said it observed "no damage" following the attacks.
At the Isfahan nuclear site, however, "four buildings were damaged" -- the central chemical laboratory, a uranium conversion plant, the Tehran reactor fuel manufacturing plant, and a metal processing facility under construction, the IAEA said.
Significant uranium stockpiles are believed to be stored around the Isfahan site.
Ali Vaez, the International Crisis Group's Iran project director, told AFP that if Iran managed to transfer significant quantities to "secret facilities," then "the game is lost for Israel".
Iran's only nuclear power plant, the Bushehr plant, was not targeted, nor was the Tehran research reactor.
Can the programme be destroyed?
While "Israel can damage Iran's nuclear programme... it is unlikely to be able to destroy it," Vaez said, saying that Israel did not have the massively powerful bombs needed "to destroy the fortified, bunkered facilities in Natanz and Fordow".
Destroying those would require US military assistance, added Kelsey Davenport, an expert with the Arms Control Association.
She also noted that Israel's unprecedented attack would not erase the expertise Iran had built up on nuclear weapons, despite killing nine Iranian nuclear scientists.
What are the risks to the Iranian population?
The IAEA has not detected any increase in radiation levels at the affected sites.
"There is very little risk that attacks on Iran's uranium enrichment facilities would result in a harmful radiation release," Davenport said.
But an attack on the Bushehr plant could "have a serious impact on health and the environment", she said.
After Israel launched its strikes, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said that nuclear facilities "must never be attacked" and that targeting Iranian sites could have "grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region, and beyond".
Is Iran close to developing a nuclear bomb?
After the United States under President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from a landmark deal that sought to curb Tehran's nuclear activities, Iran has gradually retreated from some of its obligations, particularly on uranium enrichment.
As of mid-May, the country had an estimated 408.6 kilogrammes (900 pounds) enriched to up to 60 percent -- just a short step from the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.
Iran theoretically has enough near-weapons-grade material, if further refined, for about 10 nuclear bombs, according to the definition by the Vienna-based IAEA.
Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed state producing uranium to this level of enrichment, according to the UN nuclear watchdog.
How much damage has Israel inflicted on Iran's nuclear programme?
While the IAEA has been critical of Iran's lack of cooperation with the UN body, it says there are "no credible indications of an ongoing, undeclared structured nuclear programme".
Tehran has consistently denied ambitions to develop nuclear warheads.
But Davenport warned that the strikes could strengthen factions in Iran advocating for an atomic arsenal.
"Israel's strikes set Iran back technically, but politically the strikes are pushing Iran closer to nuclear weapons," she said.