Rafael Mariano Grossi

Built World

Warning that grid damage increases nuclear safety risks

Ukrainian officials say more than 450 drones and about 30 missiles hit energy and port infrastructure overnight. Odesa and surrounding areas went dark.

Updated Yesterday

Force in Play

Brokers unprecedented localized ceasefire for emergency nuclear safety repairs after 12th ZNPP blackout

Since October 2022, Russia has waged a parallel war on Ukraine's electricity, heating and transport systems, launching repeated waves of missiles and drones at power plants, high-voltage substations, rail hubs and ports. The campaign intensified in winter 2025–26 with near-daily barrages. These destroyed 70% of generating capacity, forced a formal energy emergency on January 15, 2026, and left the grid meeting only 60% of national electricity needs amid temperatures as low as minus 20°C.

Updated 6 days ago

Built World

Sent recorded congratulatory message to Bangladesh fuel-loading ceremony

Bangladesh first considered building a nuclear plant in 1961, when the site at Rooppur was still part of East Pakistan. Sixty-five years later, on April 28, 2026, technicians began lowering 163 uranium fuel assemblies into the core of Unit 1—the step that turns a construction project into a nuclear power station. The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) issued the operating license for Unit 1 on April 16, 2026, the final regulatory clearance before uranium could enter the core. The loading process is expected to take 21 to 30 days, after which the reactor will be brought to first criticality.

Updated Apr 29

Force in Play

Actively monitoring Bushehr; issuing repeated warnings against strikes near nuclear facilities

A projectile struck 350 meters from Iran's only operating nuclear reactor on April 4, killing a security guard and damaging an auxiliary building — the fourth time ordnance has landed on or near the Bushehr nuclear power plant since the United States and Israel began striking Iran on February 28. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed no radiation increase was detected, but Director General Rafael Grossi warned that auxiliary buildings may house vital safety equipment and that nuclear plant sites "must never be attacked."

Updated Apr 5

Force in Play

Monitoring nuclear sites; warning of radiological catastrophe risk following Bushehr strikes

Iran's nuclear infrastructure has become the primary target of an intensifying US-Israeli air campaign that began February 28 and has now entered its sixth week. The Natanz uranium enrichment complex has been struck four times; on April 4, 2026, US and Israeli forces expanded the campaign to strike the Bushehr nuclear power plant and the Mahshahr petrochemical hub in southwestern Iran, killing at least one security guard and wounding five workers. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that strikes on civilian nuclear power plants cross 'the reddest line' of nuclear safety, raising the risk of a radiological catastrophe. Meanwhile, Iran has demonstrated growing military capability: on April 4, Iranian air defenses downed two US warplanes, marking the first confirmed loss of American aircraft in the conflict.

Updated Apr 4

Force in Play

Monitoring nuclear site damage; reversed initial assessment on Natanz

For four decades, the United States and Iran avoided direct, large-scale war. That changed on February 28, 2026, when the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and leadership compounds, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The assault followed collapsed indirect nuclear talks mediated by Oman. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on US bases in the Gulf, oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and the US Embassy in Riyadh.

Updated Mar 4