Massimo Aparo (born 31 July 1953) is an Italian nuclear engineer, who started working as acting deputy director general and head of the Department of Safeguards, after Tero Varjoranta has resigned effective 11 May 2018.

He served in the following positions: Before joining the IAEA, Aparo worked as director general of an Italian firm specialized in radiation detection and monitoring.

Aparo, is the leader of an elite unit of the International Atomic Energy Agency known as Iran Task Force.

The task force consists of around 50 members, including nuclear engineers, chemists, physicists, intelligence data analysts and communication experts.

According to the Jerusalem Post, “The Iran Task Force is part of the IAEA’s Department of Safeguards and Verification, which is in charge of making sure that all its state members properly use nuclear technology and know-how for the declared civilian and peaceful purposes: scientific research,” [12][13][14] On 29 August 2022, an IAEA team flew out sent to investigate the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine which was in the middle of conflict.