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21:52 GMT
NEW YORK, June 22 (KUNA) -- In his addressed to the Security Council via video link, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned Sunday against further conflict and underscored the stakes for the global nuclear order.
"We have a window of opportunity to return to dialogue and diplomacy," Grossi said.
"If that window closes, violence and destruction could reach unthinkable levels, and the global non-proliferation regime as we know it could crumble and fall."
Grossi stressed that nuclear facilities must never be targets in military operations: "armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the State which has been attacked."
Grossi confirmed significant surface damage at Iran's Fordow nuclear facility, one of the country's main uranium enrichment centers.
"There are visible craters at Iran's key Fordow nuclear facility, indicating the use by the United States of America of ground-penetrating munitions," he said. (end)
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