IAEA warns of nuclear disaster

UNITED NATIONS: The Middle East risks a nuclear catastrophe if Israel strikes Iran's southern nuclear plant of Bushehr, the head of the UN atomic watchdog warned on Friday.
Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told the UN Security Council that he has not yet detected radiation resulting from Israel's week-long military campaign against Iran, including attacks on nuclear sites.
But he said that a strike on Bushehr, the Middle East's first civilian nuclear reactor, would spell the most serious consequences as it contains thousands of kilogrammes of nuclear material.
"Countries of the region have reached out directly to me over the past few hours to express their concerns and I want to make it absolutely and completely clear — in case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity," Grossi said.
Grossi warned of equally dire consequences even if Israel strikes the lines that supply electricity to Bushehr, saying such disabling of power could trigger a meltdown.
In a worst case scenario, evacuations and orders to take shelter would need to be issued for areas within several hundred kilometres of Bushehr. The population would also need to take iodine and may see restrictions in food supply, Grossi said.
Meanhile, European powers began talks with Iran in Geneva on Friday, talking of a window of opportunity for a diplomatic solution while the United States weighs whether to join its ally Israel's bombing campaign.
Israel came under renewed Iranian missile fire after carrying out dozens of strikes overnight on targets, including a suspected nuclear research centre.
Top European diplomats opened talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva, saying they wanted to offer a "diplomatic solution" to the war, now on its eighth day.
Ahead of the talks, French President Emmanuel Macron said it was "essential to prioritise" a return to negotiations and said European powers would offer Iran a "diplomatic solution".
The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany; and the European Union's top diplomat have urged de-escalation, with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy saying the next two weeks are "a window... to achieve a diplomatic solution".
Speaking to the UN Human Rights Council earlier, Araghchi condemned Israel for launching its military action while Iran was still in nuclear talks with the United States.
"We were attacked in the midst of an ongoing diplomatic process," the Iranian minister said.
As the Security Council prepared to discuss the war later on Friday, UN chief Antonio Guterres appealed to all parties to "give peace a chance".
Israel's military said on Friday it struck missile launchers in its latest attack on Iran. In Israel, sirens sounded in the afternoon after missiles were launched from Iran for the second time on Friday and rescuers reported two wounded, including a 16-year-old in serious condition.
A military official said that "approximately 20 missiles were launched towards Israel" in the latest salvo. — AFP -

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