Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Sunday warned of serious repercussions following any military attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
An attack on the plant could lead to the leakage of large quantities of radioactive materials, he said, posing a direct threat to the environment and population both inside and outside Iran.
This warning came in an official letter Araqchi sent to the UN Security Council, following attacks he said were carried out by the US and Israel against Iranian nuclear facilities.
He considered these attacks a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter, as well as a breach of the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Araghchi noted that the Bushehr nuclear power plant is an operational facility containing thousands of kilograms of nuclear material.
Any direct hit could release very large amounts of radiation into the environment, he said, while targeting its power supply lines could disrupt its cooling systems, potentially causing a meltdown of the reactor core and a widespread release of radiation.
He explained that targeting nuclear facilities even during a conflict is prohibited under international humanitarian law, given the grave risks it poses that extend beyond the borders of the targeted state to regional and international security.
