'May Resume Uranium Enrichment Within Months': IAEA Chief After Iran Bans Watchdog Entry (Photo on X@sean_murray1)
United Nations nuclear watchdog head, Rafael Grossi, on Saturday warned that Iran may be able to restart uranium enrichment in a matter of months. The remarks come after US President Donald Trump asserted that its attack on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear infrastructure pushed its nuclear ambitions back by decades.
While speaking to CBS News, Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that some facilities are still standing, though the recent US and Israeli attacks hit several key nuclear infrastructures in Iran.
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Suggesting that Iran could have a nuclear weapon in a matter of months, the international watchdog head stated it could be even sooner, noting that a few cascades of centrifuges are spinning and producing enriched uranium.
Grossi also flagged concerns over Iran’s stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium, which is just below what is the requirement for nuclear weapons. The amount could theoretically produce more than nine nuclear bombs if refined further, he foresees. He further pointed out that the UN watchdog does not know if Iran moved this stockpile before the bombings or partially destroyed it.
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Notably, Iran’s foreign minister on Saturday declared that the country will bar the head of the IAEA, Grossi, from entering its territory, asserting that it will not allow the agency to install surveillance cameras at nuclear facilities. Iran’s parliament on Wednesday passed legislation suspending cooperation with the nuclear watchdog after the recent conflict between Israel and the US.
On June 26, Grossi demanded that Iran “must immediately allow me or my colleagues to inspect, while alleging that their attempts to contact the authorities are being ignored. There have been claims that the atomic watchdog chief is acting on behalf of Israel by leaking secret documents and information to the Jewish nation.
Kickstarting the conflict with Iran, Israel launched air strikes on Iranian military, nuclear, and civilian sites on June 13, which killed around 600 people and injured over 5,000 people. The strikes, backed by the US, assassinated several military chiefs and nuclear scientists in Iran. Amid the Iran-Israeli strikes, the US also directly hit three key nuclear facilities in Iran, triggering the Islamic Republic to end negotiations on the matter.
Israel also suffered huge damage to infrastructure, including nearly 30 casualties in Tehran’s retaliatory strikes. The 12-day conflict thus came to a halt under a US-sponsored ceasefire on June 24.
