New Delhi, June 20 -- The atomic watchdog of the United Nations on Friday said that the Middle East will be risking a nuclear catastrophe if Israel makes a strike on Iran's southern nuclear plant of Bushehr.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi told the United Nations Security Council that he has not yet detected any radiation due to Israel's week-long military attack on Iran, including attacks on its nuclear sites.

However, he warned that a strike on Bushehr - the Middle East's first civilian nuclear reactor, which so far appears to have been spared - would result in the most serious consequences as the facility houses thousands of kilograms of nuclear material.

"Armed attack for nuclear facilities should never take...