The UNSC met yesterday to discuss the Iran-Israel war. IAEA chief Grossi warned against the bombing of nuclear facilities, Antonio Guterres called on the council to give peace a chance, and the Iranian and Israeli representatives fired verbal missiles at each other.
Grossi reported on the Israeli attacks on the nuclear facilities at Natanz, Isfahan and Arak, saying that there was as yet no release of radioactivity from the Natanz facility, but he warned against attacking the Bushehr nuclear power plant. “It is an operating nuclear power plant and hosts thousands of kilograms of nuclear material,” he said, reported Reuters. “I want to make it absolutely and completely clear: In the case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment,” he added. “Similarly, a hit that disabled the only two lines supplying electrical power to the plant could cause its reactor’s core to melt.”
Grossi said any action against the Tehran nuclear research reactor will also have severe consequences, “potentially for large areas of the city of Tehran and its inhabitants.” He said there were “moments when the directions taken will shape not just the fate of nations, but potentially our collective future…. I have a simple and clear message: give peace a chance.”
Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said Iran would continue to defend itself from Israeli attacks, while his Israeli counterpart, Ambassador Danny Danon vowed: “We will not stop. Not until Iran’s nuclear threat is dismantled, not until its war machine is disarmed, not until our people and yours are safe.”
