Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi has warned that Iran is “weeks rather than months” away from having enough enriched uranium to develop a nuclear bomb.
Grossi told the German Deutsche Welle channel Tuesday that although uranium enrichment at near weapons-grade levels is a cause for alarm, one cannot draw the direct conclusion that Iran now has a nuclear weapon.
“That does not mean that Iran has or would have a nuclear weapon in that space of time,” he added.
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said “a functional nuclear warhead requires many other things independently from the production of the fissile material,” adding that Iran’s nuclear goals are “a matter of speculation.”
Iran has been enriching uranium to up to 60 percent purity since April 2021 in the Natanz and Fordow facilities.
The latest report issued by Grossi said Iran’s total stock of nuclear material stands at 27 times the limit agreed in the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal.
At the end of 2023, the IAEA warned that Tehran already had enough material to make three nuclear bombs if it enriches the material now at 60% to beyond 60%.
On Tuesday, Grossi said the IAEA is not getting the level of access he believes it needs in Iran, which he said added more to the speculation around Tehran's nuclear program.
“I have been telling my Iranian counterparts time and again [...] this activity raises eyebrows and compounded with the fact that we are not getting the necessary degree of access and visibility that I believe should be necessary,” he said.
“When you put all of that together, then, of course, you end up with lots of question marks.”
Grossi then highlighted unresolved IAEA findings, including traces of enriched uranium in unexpected locations, exacerbating doubts about Iran's transparency.
“This has been at the center of this dialogue that I have been and I am still trying to conduct with Iran,” he explained.
Grossi is expected to issue a report on Iran’s nuclear activities next month, weeks before the IAEA Board of Governors meet in Vienna.
Grossi wanted to visit Tehran in February ahead of the regular meeting of the Agency’s Board of Governors in March.
Instead, Iran invited the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog to a conference in Tehran in May.
Turning to the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, Grossi condemned any notion of attacking nuclear facilities.
“Attacking nuclear facilities is an absolute no-go,” he said.
Reacting to reports of talks between the United States and Iran, the IAEA chief said his agency always tries to promote dialogue.
Meanwhile, Iranian lawmaker Javad Karimi Ghoddusi said Iran is only “a one-week gap from the issuance of the order to the first test” of a nuclear bomb, if instructed to do so by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Ghoddusi’s statement came hours after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani denied any intention by his country to change the course of its nuclear program. “Nuclear weapons have no place in our nuclear doctrine,” the spokesperson said.
