IAEA confirms Natanz incident site does not contain nuclear materials

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that the location where the incident occurred at the Natanz Nuclear Enrichment Facility does not contain nuclear materials, adding that the site is under the Agency safeguards, including both safeguards verification and JCPOA verification and monitoring.

Iran PressEurope: “The Agency can confirm that there were no IAEA safeguards inspectors present at the time and that the location where the incident occurred does not contain nuclear materials,” IAEA said in a statement on Friday.

According to the statement, published on its official website, the IAEA has been informed by Iran about a fire in a building at the site of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility early on Thursday. 

“Iran also informed the IAEA late on Thursday that the fire was quickly extinguished and that there had been no nuclear material or other radioactive material in the building. Iran said the cause was not yet known, adding there were no injuries or radioactive contamination,” it added. 

IAEA went on to say that the Natanz site is under IAEA safeguards, including both safeguards verification and JCPOA verification and monitoring. 

“The Agency has been in contact with relevant Iranian authorities to confirm there will be no impact on its safeguards verification activities, which are expected to continue as before. IAEA inspectors are present on a regular basis at Natanz,” the statement concluded.

The spokesman for the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Keyvan Khosravi, said on Friday that according to technical and security investigations, the cause of fire at Natanz Nuclear Enrichment Facility was discovered, but due to some security concerns, it will be announced in an appropriate time.

Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) spokesman Behruz Kamalvandi said on Thursday, July 2 there was an incident in "one of the industrial sheds under construction" at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant.

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