The Atomic Energy Agency of Iran has reported that the Shahid Ahmadi-Roshan Enrichment Complex in Natanz was subjected to a renewed attack by the US and Israel in violation of international laws and commitments, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). “Technical assessments indicate that no radioactive material leakage has occurred and there is no danger to residents of the surrounding areas.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in a post on X, said it had been informed by Iran that the Natanz nuclear site was attacked. “No increase in off-site radiation levels reported. IAEA is looking into the report. IAEA Director General @rafaelmgrossi reiterates call for military restraint to avoid any risk of a nuclear accident.”
The Natanz nuclear centre is located in Isfahan province, about 250 kilometres south of Tehran. The facility uses gas centrifuges to enrich uranium. It has produced uranium with an enrichment level of up to 60%. A significant portion of the complex’s infrastructure is located underground, at a depth of up to eight metres, providing protection from air strikes.
This is the second attack on the facility since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February sparking a regional conflict. Israeli media, citing US sources, claimed that bunker-buster bombs were used in the strike. The Natanz site was previously hit in the first week of the war, and several buildings were damaged, according to satellite images at the time. IAEA said on 3 March that the nuclear site suffered “recent damage”, a day after Iran said the underground uranium enrichment plant had been attacked. IAEA reported damage to one of the passages to the underground part of the plant in Natanz after the strikes.
In response to a query by The Times of Israel, the Israel Defence Forces said that it did not conduct any strikes in the area and that it could not comment on American activities. Israel’s Kan news reported that the US had indeed struck the facility, using “bunker buster” bombs to target the site. It cited unspecified sources.
Natanz had also been attacked by the US during the 12-day war launched on Iran by Israel and the US in June 2025, after which US President Trump claimed that the Natanz facilities had been “obliterated”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that the UN and the IAEA should provide an objective assessment of the situation. “Despite the well-known claims about the “complete destruction” of the Iranian nuclear program as a result of the US air raids in June last year, the uranium enrichment facility in Iran’s Natanz, which is under the IAEA’s safeguards, was once again attacked on the morning of 21 March,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on the ministry’s website.
“The international community, including the leadership of the UN and the IAEA, must immediately give an objective and uncompromising assessment of irresponsible actions that generate real risks of catastrophe throughout the Middle East and are openly aimed at further destroying peace, stability and security in the region.”
The Natanz nuclear facility has been targeted by direct military airstrikes at least four times during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, which escalated in 2025. In addition to the two recent attacks, on 13 June 2025 Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a large-scale surprise attack that hit dozens of targets, including the Natanz facility, damaging the above-ground part of the site.
On 22 June, the US executed Operation Midnight Hammer, where B-2 stealth bombers and Tomahawk missiles reportedly targeted nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan.
Before the current direct military conflict, Natanz was targeted multiple times through cyberwarfare and covert operations. In 2010, joint US-Israeli cyberattack used the Stuxnet virus to destroy roughly 1000 centrifuges. In August 2020, an explosion at an advanced centrifuge assembly plant on-site was attributed to Israeli sabotage. In April 2021, an explosion and power cut in the underground enrichment plant caused significant damage to centrifuges.
The Iranian authorities have denied recent reports of an alleged evacuation from the city of Natanz, according to the Tasnim news agency. “The Prosecutor’s Office and the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps described the report as enemy propaganda.
