TEHRAN – International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi has acknowledged that there is currently no indication that Iran is actively enriching uranium, despite recent satellite observations showing suspected activity around some of its nuclear facilities.
Grossi said in remarks to The Associated Press at U.N. headquarters in New York on Wednesday that IAEA inspectors currently do not have direct access to Iran’s nuclear facilities but have not detected an acceleration of uranium enrichment beyond what Tehran accumulated before its 12-day war with the Israeli regime in June.
“Nevertheless, nuclear material with an enrichment of 60% remains in Iran,” Grossi said, stressing the need for inspectors to return to Iran to verify the peaceful uses of this material. “We need to make sure it remains in place and is not repurposed for other purposes. This is very important,” he said.
Grossi also said inspectors observed some movement near where enriched uranium was stored. He added that due to limited access, the agency relies on satellite imagery and only has a partial understanding of developments.
The IAEA chief also made the unsubstantiated claim that Iran’s current stockpile could theoretically allow it to build nuclear weapons if it decided to do so, a claim the Iranian government categorically rejects.
Iran has repeatedly emphasized that its nuclear program is completely peaceful and carried out under the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and under the supervision of the IAEA.
Iran and the IAEA signed an agreement in Cairo last month aimed at paving the way for new cooperation, including talks on resuming inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities. This agreement has not yet been implemented.
The agreement comes after Iran stopped cooperating with the United Nations nuclear watchdog after the recent Israeli war in which the United States targeted several Iranian nuclear facilities.
Grossi confirmed that IAEA inspectors have since returned to Iran and are now operating in the country.
On June 13, in an unprovoked and brazen act of aggression, Israel targeted Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists who were on the sanctions list based on an IAEA report. Israel also killed civilians.
On June 22, U.S. forces bombed nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan in violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi remained silent. Although he did not condemn the invasion, he drew criticism from Iranian officials.