Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / War and military activity · Iran · 2025–2026

Strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, 2025 and 2026: IAEA statements on contamination and the Bushehr reactor

Nature's voice · report
The radioactivity outside my Natanz site remained unchanged and at normal levels on 16 June 2025, the IAEA Director General said; inside the facility, radiological and chemical contamination was possible.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record. Disputed
Recorded
  • After the 22 June 2025 strikes, Iran reported no increase in radiation outside Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz, UN News relayed. UN News
  • No radiological consequence was expected from the damage to the entrance buildings of the Natanz plant, the IAEA said on 3 March 2026. Kuwait Times (Reuters)
People
  • 1 people died.
    Security guard killed near Bushehr on 4 April 2026, per the AEOI.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 1 not disclosed · 2 insufficient · 1 not measured · 2 disputed See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Radiological risk at the Bushehr power station after the March–April 2026 strikes
  • International bodies IAEA (Rafael Grossi): "The possibility of dispersion in the atmosphere of radioactivity is very high if you get to the core of the reactor." NucNet
  • Company or project Rosatom: "The radiation situation at the site is normal." NucNet
  • Government and regulators Atomic Energy Organization of Iran: "no financial, technical, or human damage occurred" on 17 March; on 4 April reported one security guard killed and a side building damaged. Al Jazeera
  • Government and regulators Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister: Said Bushehr had been "bombed" four times since 28 February and "Radioactive fallout will end life in GCC capitals, not Tehran". Al Jazeera

The IAEA's Director General said in June 2025 that radioactivity outside Natanz was at normal levels while radiological and chemical contamination inside the facility was possible. In March and April 2026 statements by the IAEA, Rosatom, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization and Iran's foreign minister addressed a projectile hit and strikes near the Bushehr power station.

Unchanged, at normal levelsIAEA Director General on radioactivity outside Natanz, 16 June 2025
As reported by AP; contamination inside the facility was described as possible. The IAEA had no staff in Iran in March 2026.

Status As of 5 April 2026 (latest dated source): the AEOI reported missiles hitting close to Bushehr; the IAEA had no staff in Iran.

What?
IAEA and other statements on radiological and chemical contamination after strikes on Natanz, Fordow, Isfahan and Arak in June 2025 and on the risk at Bushehr in March–April 2026. Naharnet (AP)
Where?
Natanz, Fordow, Isfahan, Arak/Khondab and the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran. UN News
When?
13–22 June 2025 and from 28 February 2026; statements dated 16 June 2025, 3 March, 17–19 March and 4–5 April 2026. Kuwait Times (Reuters)
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
  • Atomic Energy Organization of Iran — One security guard killed and a side building damaged near Bushehr, 4 April 2026 (AEOI) Al Jazeera
Harmed
  • Natanz facility interior — Radiological and chemical contamination possible inside, according to the IAEA Director General Naharnet (AP)
  • Persian Gulf region — Risk of atmospheric dispersion if the Bushehr reactor core were reached (Grossi, conditional) NucNet
Why?
The sites were struck in the 2025 and 2026 wars; parties' accounts of the strikes and their consequences differ. Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS)
How?
Strikes damaged enrichment and conversion facilities and landed near or on the Bushehr premises; the IAEA relied on information from Iran and on satellite imagery. Kuwait Times (Reuters)
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Natanz was hit on 13 June 2025. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on 16 June, as reported by AP, that "The level of radioactivity outside the Natanz site has remained unchanged and at normal levels", that radiological and chemical contamination inside the facility was possible, and that the risk could be managed with protective equipment such as respirators. CEOBS summarised IAEA statements of 20 June 2025: damage to the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant and potential damage to the underground plant at Natanz; the IAEA "believes that there is radioactive and chemical contamination at both sites"; at Isfahan on 13 June four buildings were damaged, including a uranium conversion plant, with off-site radiation "unchanged"; at Arak on 18 June "no nuclear material was onsite".

After strikes on 22 June 2025, UN News reported on 23 June that Grossi said "Craters are now visible at the Fordow site" and that "no one including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordow"; Iran reported no increase in radiation outside Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz; on Bushehr, Grossi said "the risk is real".

In the war that began on 28 February 2026, the IAEA said on 3 March that it could "now confirm some recent damage to entrance buildings of Iran's underground Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant" with "No radiological consequence expected and no additional impact detected at FEP itself". The same Reuters report said the IAEA had no staff in Iran and relied on satellite imagery, and that Rosatom had halted construction of new Bushehr units, leaving 639 Russian personnel on site.

On 17 March 2026 the IAEA said Iran informed it that "a projectile hit the premises" of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, with no damage or injuries reported. Grossi said: "This is the reddest line of all that you have in nuclear safety" and "The possibility of dispersion in the atmosphere of radioactivity is very high if you get to the core of the reactor". Rosatom said "The radiation situation at the site is normal", and Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) said "no financial, technical, or human damage occurred" (NucNet, 19 March). On 4 April, according to the AEOI, missiles hit close to Bushehr, killing one security guard and damaging a side building. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Bushehr had been "bombed" four times since 28 February and wrote "Radioactive fallout will end life in GCC capitals, not Tehran"; AEOI head Mohammad Eslami wrote to Grossi asking the IAEA to condemn the attacks (Al Jazeera, 5 April). CEOBS wrote on 27 March of Israeli strikes on Natanz and "repeated strikes in proximity to the Bushehr reactor".

  1. 2025Natanz hit (13 Jun); Grossi on radioactivity outside Natanz (16 Jun); Arak (18 Jun); strikes of 22 Jun and Grossi's statement on Fordow and Bushehr (reported 23 Jun)
  2. 2026War begins (28 Feb); IAEA confirms damage to Natanz entrance buildings (3 Mar); projectile hits Bushehr premises (17 Mar); CEOBS overview (27 Mar); missiles hit near Bushehr per AEOI (4 Apr)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“The level of radioactivity outside the Natanz site has remained unchanged and at normal levels”

Rafael Grossi, IAEA Director General, as reported by AP · 2025-06-16 · Naharnet (AP)

“no one including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordow”

Rafael Grossi, IAEA Director General, as reported by UN News · 2025-06-23 · UN News

“This is the reddest line of all that you have in nuclear safety”

Rafael Grossi, IAEA Director General, on the Bushehr incident · 2026-03-19 · NucNet

“The possibility of dispersion in the atmosphere of radioactivity is very high if you get to the core of the reactor”

Rafael Grossi, IAEA Director General · 2026-03-19 · NucNet

“The radiation situation at the site is normal”

Rosatom, on Bushehr · 2026-03-19 · NucNet

“no financial, technical, or human damage occurred”

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, on the 17 March incident · 2026-03-19 · NucNet

“Radioactive fallout will end life in GCC capitals, not Tehran”

Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister · 2026-04-05 · Al Jazeera

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Radiological risk at the Bushehr power station after the March–April 2026 strikes
International bodies
IAEA (Rafael Grossi)

"The possibility of dispersion in the atmosphere of radioactivity is very high if you get to the core of the reactor."

NucNet
Company or project
Rosatom

"The radiation situation at the site is normal."

NucNet
Government and regulators
Atomic Energy Organization of Iran

"no financial, technical, or human damage occurred" on 17 March; on 4 April reported one security guard killed and a side building damaged.

Al Jazeera
Government and regulators
Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister

Said Bushehr had been "bombed" four times since 28 February and "Radioactive fallout will end life in GCC capitals, not Tehran".

Al Jazeera

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Bushehr had been "bombed" four times since 28 February 2026.
    Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister, as reported by Al Jazeera · Al Jazeera
  • Missiles hit close to Bushehr, killing one security guard and damaging a side building.
    Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, as reported by Al Jazeera · Al Jazeera

Recorded

  • Grossi: radiological and chemical contamination inside the Natanz facility was possible while radioactivity outside was at normal levels (16 June 2025).
    Naharnet (AP)
  • The IAEA confirmed damage to entrance buildings of the underground Natanz plant on 3 March 2026 and expected no radiological consequence.
    Kuwait Times (Reuters)
  • The IAEA said Iran informed it that a projectile hit the premises of the Bushehr plant on 17 March 2026.
    NucNet
  • Neither Iran nor Russia published images of the Bushehr damage, according to NucNet.
    NucNet

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Currency: USD · Window: . All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • International Atomic Energy Agency (2025–2026): Said off-site radioactivity at Natanz was at normal levels in June 2025 and that Iran informed it of a projectile hit at Bushehr on 17 March 2026. · NucNet
  • Rosatom (2026-03-19): Said the radiation situation at the Bushehr site was normal. · NucNet
  • Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (2026-03 to 2026-04): Said no financial, technical or human damage occurred on 17 March; reported a security guard killed in the 4 April strikes near Bushehr; its head asked the IAEA to condemn the attacks. · Al Jazeera

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Radioactivity outside Natanz, 16 June 2025
Unchanged, normal levels
IAEA Director General, via AP
Buildings damaged at Isfahan, 13 June 2025
4
Including a uranium conversion plant; off-site radiation unchanged (CEOBS summary of IAEA)
Russian personnel at Bushehr, March 2026
639
After Rosatom halted construction of new units (Reuters)

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Key earnings undisclosedNo independent ecological evaluation

Nature

  • Disputed Radiological risk at the Bushehr power station after the March–April 2026 strikes

Record

  • Not measured Not measured: independent off-site sampling; the IAEA statements reported give contamination as confined inside the facilities, with Iran's regulator as the main data source for off-site levels.
  • Insufficient Insufficient: "no one including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordow" (Grossi, June 2025).
  • Insufficient Insufficient: the IAEA had no inspectors in Iran in March 2026 and relied on satellite imagery (Reuters).
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: neither Iran nor Russia published images of the damage at Bushehr (NucNet).
  • Disputed Disputed: after the 17 March 2026 incident Rosatom described the radiation situation at Bushehr as normal and the AEOI reported no damage, while Grossi said dispersion would be very likely if the reactor core were reached and Araghchi wrote that fallout would end life in GCC capitals.
  • None on record None on record: legal proceedings and insurance concerning the nuclear sites.

Did the harm stop?

None on record. Statements through April 2026 describe repeated strikes near Bushehr; no end-state is reported.

Who paid?

None on record.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers✓ International bodies

Press and investigations

Communities and civil society

  1. The emerging environmental consequences of the Israel-Iran war
    Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS) · 2025-06-20
  2. Iran War: Environmental risk overview as of 27th March
    Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS) · 2026-03-27

International bodies

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

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Water held underground in soil and rock, drawn through wells.
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