Middle East conflict: Could Iran's nuclear sites turn toxic? Experts weigh risks after US and Israeli strikes
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Fordo enrichment facility in Iran before U.S. strikes, Friday, June 20, 2025. (Pic credit: AP)
As US and Israeli airstrikes tear through Iran's key nuclear infrastructure, international attention is shifting to a far graver question: Are these attacks triggering nuclear contamination risks across the region?
US President Donald Trump declared on Sunday that Iran's most fortified nuclear sites, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, had been "completely obliterated" in coordinated military strikes.
While Iran denies the presence of nuclear weapons at the sites, several of them are central to the country's uranium enrichment program.
So far, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not detected increased radiation levels outside the impacted areas. But experts warn that doesn't mean there's no danger.
Which sites were hit and what do they contain?
The US strikes targeted:
Fordow: An underground uranium enrichment facility
Natanz: Home to centrifuge halls and production centers
Isfahan: A complex that includes Iran's Uranium Conversion Facility
Previous Israeli strikes also hit Arak (Khondab), a site under construction, and other centrifuge hubs in Tehran and Karaj.
While most of these sites were not actively running reactors, they did contain uranium hexafluoride (UF6), a toxic chemical compound used in uranium enrichment.
Chemical, not radiological but still dangerous
Experts emphasise: attacks on enrichment sites like Natanz or Isfahan don't create nuclear mushroom clouds, but they can release toxic substances, especially UF6, into the air.
"When uranium hexafluoride interacts with moisture, it creates harmful chemicals," Reuters quoted Darya Dolzikova of London's RUSI think-tank.
"The danger is more chemical than radiological but still real."
Whether those chemicals stay near the site or spread across borders depends on wind speed, direction, and the facility's depth underground.
Are underground sites safer to bomb?
Ironically, yes. Hitting a site buried under concrete and rock, like Fordow, may actually reduce the spread of contamination.
"You're burying the hazardous material in tons of earth," said Simon Bennett, a safety expert from the University of Leicester.
"The material is toxic, but it doesn't travel far, and it's barely radioactive in its pre-reactor form."
The nightmare scenario: Bushehr
While attacks on enrichment sites carry low to moderate environmental risk, experts warn that a strike on the Bushehr nuclear power plant could trigger a radiological catastrophe.
Located on Iran's Gulf coast, Bushehr is an active reactor. Israeli forces mistakenly claimed to have struck the site on June 19, sparking panic before walking the statement back.
"A hit on Bushehr could release radioactive material into the sea or air," said James Acton of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It would be a Chernobyl-level disaster in waiting."
Why the Gulf states are extremely nervous
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is on high alert. Not just because of fallout, but because millions depend on the Gulf's waters for desalinated drinking water.
Qatar, Bahrain, and the UAE rely on desalination for over 80–100% of their water supply
Saudi Arabia still sources 50% from desalination
An oil spill, natural disaster, or nuclear leak could cripple the region's water infrastructure
"One contaminant near a coastal desalination plant can shut down freshwater access for an entire city," said Nidal Hilal, director of NYU Abu Dhabi's Water Research Centre.
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