In a major blow to the nuclear establishment in Iran, the US military on Saturday struck three key nuclear sites in Iran - Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.
It is not just a major escalation in the Israel-Iran conflict which the US has now inserted itself into, but the strikes have also raised concerns of a possible radiation, given all targets were nuclear sites.
However, Iran's nuclear regulatory authority has said that there is no danger to residents living near these facilities. The nuclear sites struck by the US did not contain materials that cause radiation, an official at the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation said.
"No signs of contamination have been recorded," Iranian state media quoted the country's National Nuclear Safety System Centre. “There is no danger to the residents living around the aforementioned sites,” the statement added.
UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency also confirmed that no increase in radiation levels was seen at the nuclear sites.
Before the US strikes, Israeli strikes on some key Iranian sites had also sparked radiation fears.
However, no release of radioactive material into the environment around the facilities was recorded by the Israeli strikes, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
{{/usCountry}}However, no release of radioactive material into the environment around the facilities was recorded by the Israeli strikes, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
{{/usCountry}}The United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned that nuclear facilities must never be attacked given the potential threat to nuclear safety.
After the Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan enrichment plants were struck by the US, an Iranian official said the sites had been evacuated.
"The enriched uranium reserves had been transferred from the nuclear centres and there are no materials left there that, if targeted, would cause radiation and be harmful to our compatriots,” Hassan Abedini, deputy political head of Iran's state broadcaster, was quoted as saying by Reuters.
US President Donald Trump announced the American military strikes on the three Iranian nuclear sites, and warned Tehran it would face more attacks if it did not agree to peace.
"If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill," Trump said in a speech that lasted just over three minutes.
The development came after days of deliberation and long before his self-imposed two-week deadline to decide if the US military would step in.