IAEA Vows ‘Firm’ Approach with Iran, West Scraps Resolution Criticizing Tehran

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi (IAEA)
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi (IAEA)
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IAEA Vows ‘Firm’ Approach with Iran, West Scraps Resolution Criticizing Tehran

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi (IAEA)
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi (IAEA)

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi on Monday expressed “concern” towards not receiving answers or any promises regarding cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to detect traces of uranium at three Iranian sites.

Despite being small in nature, the results of Grossi’s visit to Tehran were enough to push Western countries to scrap plans for a resolution criticizing Iran.

In a press conference, Grossi reaffirmed that he will move forward in resolving problems with the new Iranian government under President Ebrahim Raisi, which he described as a “hardline” administration in its dealing with the nuclear deal and policy of cooperation with the IAEA.

Despite this, Grossi said he is determined to hold a dialogue with the new government to find solutions for unresolved issues.

“From day one, my approach to Iran has been firm and fair,” said Grossi, who had traveled to Tehran over the weekend.

Upon his return, Grossi announced that communication had been re-established with Iran, and that Tehran had agreed to allow IAEA inspectors to replace the batteries and memory cards of the surveillance cameras inside its nuclear facilities.

“This agreement cannot be permanent,” said Grossi, explaining that the arrangement filled some gaps and allowed an opportunity for diplomacy.

“Iran played its cards well,” one Vienna-based diplomat told Reuters of the weekend agreement.

“The promise to continue high-level discussions on the outstanding issues managed to deflate the pressure for a resolution, even if what Grossi brought back from Tehran was pitifully little.”

For his part, Grossi confirmed he will meet with the chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, next week.

The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the IAEA’s annual general assembly and will aim to complete talks Grossi started in Tehran.



French Intelligence Chief: No Certainty on Whereabouts of Iran’s Uranium Stocks

An Iranian national flag is fixed to the arm of a statue at the monument dedicated to the Palestinian struggle in Palestine Square in central Tehran on July 8, 2025, as an anti-Israeli billboard is displayed on the facade of a building depicting the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu with text in Persian and Hebrew reading "Netanyahu lost another war; you fell victim to Bibi's political games; Where will the next failure to stay in power occur?" (AFP)
An Iranian national flag is fixed to the arm of a statue at the monument dedicated to the Palestinian struggle in Palestine Square in central Tehran on July 8, 2025, as an anti-Israeli billboard is displayed on the facade of a building depicting the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu with text in Persian and Hebrew reading "Netanyahu lost another war; you fell victim to Bibi's political games; Where will the next failure to stay in power occur?" (AFP)
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French Intelligence Chief: No Certainty on Whereabouts of Iran’s Uranium Stocks

An Iranian national flag is fixed to the arm of a statue at the monument dedicated to the Palestinian struggle in Palestine Square in central Tehran on July 8, 2025, as an anti-Israeli billboard is displayed on the facade of a building depicting the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu with text in Persian and Hebrew reading "Netanyahu lost another war; you fell victim to Bibi's political games; Where will the next failure to stay in power occur?" (AFP)
An Iranian national flag is fixed to the arm of a statue at the monument dedicated to the Palestinian struggle in Palestine Square in central Tehran on July 8, 2025, as an anti-Israeli billboard is displayed on the facade of a building depicting the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu with text in Persian and Hebrew reading "Netanyahu lost another war; you fell victim to Bibi's political games; Where will the next failure to stay in power occur?" (AFP)

France's intelligence chief said on Tuesday that all aspects of Iran's nuclear program have been pushed back several months after American and Israeli air strikes, but there is uncertainty over where its highly-enriched uranium stocks are.

"The Iranian nuclear program is the material, it is highly-enriched uranium, it is a capacity to convert this uranium from the gaseous phase to the solid phase. It is the manufacturing of the core and it is the delivery," Nicolas Lerner, who heads the DGSE intelligence service, told LCI television.

"Our assessment today is that each of these stages has been very seriously affected, very seriously damaged and that the nuclear program, as we knew it, has been extremely delayed, probably many months."

Lerner, who was speaking for the first time on national television, said a small part of Iran's highly-enriched uranium stockpile had been destroyed, but the rest remained in the hands of the authorities.

"Today we have indications (on where it is), but we cannot say with certainty as long as the IAEA does not restart its work. It's very important. We won't have the capacity to trace it (the stocks)," Lerner said.

Other intelligence assessments have also suggested that Iran retains a hidden stockpile of enriched uranium and the technical capacity to rebuild.

Lerner echoed those comments saying there was a possibility Iran could press ahead with a clandestine program with smaller enrichment capacities.

"That's why France is so attached to finding a diplomatic solution to this nuclear crisis," he said.