IAEA Confirms Iran's Natanz Nuclear Facility Damaged in US-Israeli Strikes

The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran's Natanz Nuclear Facility in Isfahan province sustained damage during joint U.S.-Israeli military operations — the first independent verification that the strikes achieved one of their primary objectives: degrading Iran's nuclear enrichment capability. Iran's ambassador to the IAEA acknowledged the targeting. The confirmation that Natanz — the crown jewel of Iran's nuclear program and the site of its most advanced centrifuge cascades — was hit provides concrete evidence that Operation Epic Fury has reached the nuclear infrastructure that prompted the military action in the first place. The IAEA's role as a neutral verifier lends credibility to claims that the strikes are achieving their stated aims, even as the human and diplomatic costs continue to mount.