Editing Hans Blix (section)

==Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (1981–1997)==
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Blix became Director General of the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] between 1981 and 1997 after [[Sigvard Eklund]].

Blix personally made repeated inspection visits to the Iraqi nuclear reactor ''[[Osiraq]]'' before its attempted destruction by the [[Iran]]ians, in 1980, and its eventual destruction by the [[Israeli Air Force]] in 1981 during [[Operation Opera]]. Although most agreed that Iraq was years away from being able to build a [[nuclear weapon]], the Iranians and the Israelis felt any raid must occur well before nuclear fuel was loaded to prevent [[nuclear fallout]]. The attack was regarded as being in breach of the [[United Nations Charter]] (S/RES/487) and was widely condemned. Iraq was alternately praised and admonished by the IAEA for its cooperation and lack thereof. It was only after the first [[Gulf War]] that the full extent of Iraq's nuclear programs, which had switched from a [[plutonium]]-based weapon design to a highly [[enriched uranium]] design after the destruction of Osiraq, became known.

Another significant event during his time as head of the [[International Atomic Energy Agency|IAEA]] was the [[Chernobyl disaster]] on 26 April 1986, a [[nuclear accident]] rated at the highest level 7 on the IAEA's [[International Nuclear Event Scale]].