Saudi Gazette Report

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia reiterated on Saturday that there is no environmental contamination in the vicinity of the Natanz and Isfahan uranium enrichment plants in Iran following the Israeli strikes on Friday.

The Nuclear Emergency Operations Center at the Saudi Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission (NRRC) stated that this assertion is based on a briefing by the Emergency Incident Center of the International Atomic Energy Agency in accordance with what it had received from the Iran Nuclear Regulatory Authority. The Saudi nuclear regulatory authority stated that this information is made available within the framework of the agreement on early notification of a nuclear incident.

Previously, the NRRC stated that Saudi Arabia's proactive national capabilities to anticipate radioactive fallout include the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and it does not believe the situation requires the activation of nuclear emergency response plans.

Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said that the level of radioactivity outside the Natanz site has remained unchanged and at normal levels indicating no external radiological impact to the population or the environment from this event. Speaking at the United Nations Security Council on Friday, he said that Israel’s recent airstrike on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility has caused radiological and chemical contamination inside the facilities, though the type of radiation present inside the facility, primarily alpha particles, is manageable with "appropriate" radiation protection measures.

He said the IAEA has been in permanent contact with the Iran Nuclear Regulatory Authority to ascertain the status of relevant nuclear facilities and to assess any wider impacts on nuclear safety and security. "Iran has confirmed that at present, only the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant site has been attacked in today’s strikes. This facility contains the Fuel Enrichment Plant and the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant. At Natanz, the above-ground part of the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, where Iran was producing uranium enriched up to 60% U-235, has been destroyed. Electricity infrastructure at the facility (electrical sub-station, main electric power supply building, emergency power supply and back-up generators) has been destroyed," he said.

Israel launched a large-scale airstrike on Iran early Friday morning, targeting nuclear facilities and military sites, including the Natanz and Esfahan facilities and Revolutionary Guard headquarters in Tehran.