In less than two months, the world will mark 80 years since the atom bomb was used in warfare for the first – and hopefully last – time. The American devices that were detonated above the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused incalculable human suffering, cutting short more than 200,000 lives.
That demonstration of catastrophic power revealed the risks inherent in nuclear technology. As the war between Israel and Iran continues to escalate, it is deeply worrying to see how talk of radiation leaks and lasting environmental damage has re-entered the global conversation.
Although Israel’s unilateral strikes have done considerable damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities, there are no confirmed reports of radioactive material escaping confinement. Nevertheless, it is not alarmist to argue that one reckless strike has the potential to endanger many lives.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, said as much on Monday, stating that military escalation “increases the chance of a radiological release with serious consequences for people and the environment”. Several Middle East countries are already taking action, with Iraq’s National Nuclear, Radiological, Chemical and Biological Regulatory Authority leading discussions this week about establishing a joint operations room to respond to potential radiation leaks from Iranian nuclear facilities.
As alarming as these developments are, the global community has been here before and has shown that there are ways to prevent warring parties from making a dangerous nuclear misstep. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which was damaged in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, is currently under Russian military control but is inspected by the IAEA, which acts as a vital intermediary in assessing the plant’s safety. This is a complex and often difficult process but one that shows the indispensability of international involvement in establishing nuclear safety, even in war zones.
Such guardrails appear to be absent in the Israel-Iran crisis. As missiles rain down on Israeli and Iranian cities, the risk to civilian lives and health from a misjudged strike on a nuclear facility is profound. Iran’s people are particularly vulnerable, given Tehran’s underinvestment in civilian shelters and warning systems.
The stakes continue to rise. Israel on Thursday claimed to have targeted Iran’s Arak nuclear reactor and hit what it said was a nuclear weapons development site in the area of Natanz. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has yet to rule out direct American involvement in the conflict, something that could conceivably result in 13,000kg bombs being dropped on fortified Iranian nuclear sites.
Given the precariousness of the situation and the collective price people across this region and beyond could pay in the event of a leak, a meltdown or nuclear material falling into the wrong hands, the world needs to see a more effective response from its leading international institutions. Bodies such as the UN and its Security Council need to prove their relevance quickly; the price of inaction is too great to contemplate.
