UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Iran does not appear to be actively enriching uranium, but the agency has recently detected enrichment. New developments in domestic nuclear facilities.
Secretary General Rafael Mariano Grossi International Atomic Energy AgencyDespite not having access to Iran’s nuclear facilities, inspectors have not seen any activity via satellite that would indicate that the Islamic Republic has accelerated production of enriched uranium beyond what it collected before its nuclear program. 12 days war with israel In June.
“But the nuclear material at 60% enrichment is still in Iran. And this is one of the issues we are discussing, because we need to go back to Iran and make sure that the material is there and has not been diverted to other uses,” Grossi said in an interview at U.N. headquarters in New York. “This is very, very important.”
But Grossi said inspectors witnessed it. Movement within the premises A place where supplies are stored. Without additional access, the IAEA must rely on satellite imagery, which can only tell so much, he said.
Grossi warned that the stockpile could be used to build up to 10 nuclear bombs if Iran decides to weaponize it. Although Iran has long maintained that its program is peaceful, the IAEA and Western countries maintain that Tehran had a systematic atomic bomb program as far back as 2003.
Iran and IAEA sign agreement A meeting was held in Cairo last month to pave the way for a resumption of cooperation, including on how to resume inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities, but this has not yet taken place. The deal was announced after Iranian officials suspended all cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog After the war with Israel The US attacked multiple nuclear facilities in Iran.
Since this agreement, a series of UN sanctions reimposed on Iran Grossi said inspectors were in the country as of Wednesday, although the European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal have been complicating tense relations between the IAEA and Iran over Iran’s non-compliance with the IAEA and the collapse of peace talks with the United States.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to requests for comment.
