IAEA chief ‘deeply concerned’ over latest attack on Iran power plant; Missing US pilot not found

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 04 (APP): The UN atomic watchdog has expressed “deep concern” after Iran reported an airstrike hit near one of its major nuclear facilities in Bushehr — further escalating the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that the agency was informed of the strike – the fourth such incident in recent weeks – by Iranian officials. Iran also informed the agency that a member of the site’s physical protection staff members was killed by a projectile fragment and that a building on site was affected by shockwaves and fragments.

Grossi emphasized that nuclear power plant sites or nearby areas must never be attacked, noting that auxiliary site buildings may contain vital safety equipment. No increase in radiation levels was reported, following the latest incident.

Reiterating call for maximum military restraint to avoid risk of a nuclear accident, Grossi again stressed the paramount importance of adhering to the IAEA’s seven pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during a conflict (see below).

The previous strike on Bushehr took place on 18 March, when a structure about 350 metres from the reactor was hit and destroyed. No damage to the reactor or injuries were reported, but the agency warned that any attack near nuclear facilities risks violating key safety principles.

Earlier in the month, in an address to the IAEA Board at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Grossi underscored the risk of a nuclear incident from the military escalation since Iran “and many other countries in the region that have been subjected to military attacks have operational nuclear power plants and nuclear research reactors”.

Meanwhile, U.S. military was racing on Saturday to find an American airman who ejected from a fighter jet that was shot down over Iran, even as President Donald Trump said time was “running out” on his ultimatum to escalate U.S. attacks unless a deal was reached in two days, according to multiple media reports.

The White House has mostly been silent about the downing of the U.S. F-15E fighter jet by Iranian forces since it was first reported more than a day ago, as well as about the attempts to recover its two crew members. U.S. officials said one had been rescued, but the status of the second was unknown as of Saturday.

In a social media post on Saturday morning, Trump did not address the airman’s status. Instead, he reiterated that the deadline for his threat to bombard Iranian power plants would expire in 48 hours unless Iran agreed to stop blockading the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for Persian Gulf oil and gas.

Trump has already delayed the ultimatum twice, saying that talks were continuing between the United States and Iran.

Iranian officials have publicly dismissed U.S. demands, however, and continued to voice defiance after the two airmen were shot down on Friday.

“This brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?’” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, wrote on social media on Friday.

It was not clear how the airman’s fate might play into Trump’s decision-making over the next 48 hours as he weighs whether and how to carry out his threat.

The downing of the fighter jet on Friday was the first time U.S. personnel and combat aircraft have been shot down in Iran since the U.S.-Israeli war began in late February. Iranian forces were also seeking to capture the missing American, Iranian officials said, according to The New York Times.

An Israeli official told the Times that Israel’s military was sharing intelligence with the Americans and had suspended attacks on Iran in the area where the airman was believed to have been lost. The official, who spoke anonymously to discuss sensitive plans, did not say whether Israel’s operations were limited to those actions.

The episode also underscored Iran’s ability to fight back despite weeks of attacks on its military arsenal. Iran has continued to launch ballistic missiles and drones at Israel and Arab states across the Middle East, defying U.S.-Israeli efforts to degrade their capabilities.

On Friday, a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter involved in the rescue effort was hit by ground fire but escaped to safety, and a second U.S. military jet crashed near the Strait of Hormuz, the critical Persian Gulf waterway, the newspaper said, citing U.S. and Israeli officials. The pilot in that plane was rescued.

Elsewhere in Iran, at least one person was killed when a projectile struck the perimeter of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in southwest Iran on Saturday, according to the semiofficial Iranian Tasnim news agency. The International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran had formally notified it of the episode but that no increase in radiation levels had been reported.