Vienna, June 23 (UNI) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi on Monday cautioned that the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict risks collapsing the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and stressed the need for diplomacy to resolve the crisis.

'The weight of this conflict risks collapsing the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. But there is still a path for diplomacy. We must take it. Otherwise violence and destruction could reach unimaginable levels and the global non-proliferation regime that has underpinned international security for more than half a century, could crumble and fall,' the IAEA DG said in his statement to the Board of Governors of the IAEA.

The DG had announced on Sunday that an emergency meeting of the Board of Governors would be held on Monday in the wake of US attacks on Iran's three nuclear facilities.

Iran, Israel and the Middle East need peace, he asserted and said that for peace a number of steps need to be taken. All parties should return to the negotiating table and for that IAEA inspectors should be allowed to go back to Iran’s nuclear sites and account for the stockpiles of uranium, including, most importantly, the 400 kg enriched to 60 percent.

He said Iran's Foreign Minister Dr Abbas Araghchi had on June 13 written to him saying Iran would “adopt special measures to protect our nuclear equipment and materials.”

There were media reports that before the US attacks on the three nuclear facilities, Iran had moved out about 400 kg uranium to an undisclosed place. US media quoted two unidentified Israeli officials as saying that there is enough evidence to show Iran had removed 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity to some undisclosed place before the US attacks.

The IAEA DG said any transfer of nuclear material from a safeguarded facility to another location in Iran must be declared to the Agency as required under Iran’s Safeguard Agreement. Establishing the facts on the ground is a pre-requisite for any agreement and this could only be done through IAEA inspections.

He said cessation of hostilities was required for the necessary safety and security conditions to prevail so that Iran could let IAEA teams into the sites to assess the situation. Any special measures by Iran to protect its nuclear materials and equipment then could be done in accordance with Iran’s safeguards obligations and the Agency.

He said based on information available to the IAEA, craters are now visible at the Fordow site, Iran’s main location for enriching uranium at 60 percent, indicating the use of ground-penetrating munitions. This is consistent with statements from the US.

At this time, no one, including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordow, he said.

Given the explosive payload utilised and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred.

At the Esfahan nuclear site, additional buildings were hit with the US confirming their use of cruise missiles. Affected buildings include some related to the uranium conversion process. Also at this site, entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit, the statement read.

At the Natanz enrichment site, the Fuel Enrichment Plant was hit with the US confirming that it used ground-penetrating munitions.

Grossi said Iran has informed the IAEA that there was no increase in off-site radiation levels at all three sites. The situation at the other sites remains as described earlier. The IAEA is not aware of any further attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites since those on Sunday morning.

He said IAEA inspectors remain in Iran ready to undertake the required tasks when agreed with Iran and reiterated that armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the State which has been attacked.

He called for maximum restraint and said that military escalation not only threatens lives, but also causes delays in taking the diplomatic path.

He stressed the importance of returning to negotiations for continued effectiveness of the global

non-proliferation regime and achieve the long-term assurance that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon.

UNI RB SSP