IAEA chief: All technical staff have left Iran amid conflict

All technical personnel from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have left Iran due to the ongoing military conflict, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in an interview with Corriere della Sera. 

He expressed hope that inspectors would be able to resume work and inspect facilities in the future.

“Today, all technical staff have left the country because of the war. Before the bombings, we continued inspection work only at sites that were not attacked in 2025,” Grossi said.

“Iran’s nuclear program is vast and ambitious. It includes numerous facilities, not just Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz. We hope to be able to resume inspections covering all plants and materials,” he added.

In June of last year, the United States, in coordination with Israel, carried out strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation confirmed that facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz were targeted. 

The US and Israel have continued attacks on Iranian nuclear sites during a new campaign that began on February 28. In early March, Iran’s representative to the IAEA Board of Governors, Reza Najafi, reported that nuclear facilities in Natanz had been hit by the strikes.

By Jeyhun Aghazada