Radioactive Danger, UN Nuclear Agency Considered Weak on Israel-US Attack on Iranian Nuclear Plant

Meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or the United Nations Nuclear Regulatory Authority at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria on June 13, 2005. (Wikimedia Commons-Dean Calma-IAEA)

JAKARTA - The head of Iran's atomic energy, Mohammad Eslami, questioned the performance of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or the UN Nuclear Supervisory Agency in the escalation of the war in the Middle East.

Citing Reuters, Monday, April 6, Eslami assessed that the IAEA's silence on the US-Israeli attack on Iran's only nuclear power plant (NPP) in Busher increased the threat of radioactive contamination because it encouraged further attacks.

The Busher nuclear power plant is known to have been the latest US-Israeli target, whose attack on April 4 killed a security staff member and injured several people.

Eslami warned that attacks targeting nuclear power plants and nuclear infrastructure for public interest could risk releasing radioactive material from operating reactors and could have "irreparable consequences" for humans, the environment, and neighboring countries.

He described the attacks as a clear violation of international law.

Eslami also criticized the UN Nuclear Supervisory Agency, which he said was "not acting decisively" and was merely expressing concern.