The pinnacle of the UN’s nuclear watchdog revealed final week that the physique believes that the majority of Iran’s provide of enriched uranium survived the nation’s 12-day battle with Israel again in June, and continues to be being saved contained in the broken nuclear amenities.
Rafael Grossi, the director of the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company, advised the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung in an interview printed on October 18 that the UN physique’s findings recommend that “the bulk” of Iran’s 60% enriched uranium “stays within the nuclear amenities in Isfahan and Fordo, and a few in Natanz.”
He estimated that, in whole, Iran has roughly 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium nonetheless in its possession.
A confidential report by the IAEA final month discovered that as of June 13, Iran had 440.9 kilograms (972 kilos) of uranium enriched as much as 60%. As Grossi advised NZZ that the Islamic Republic nonetheless has round 400 kilograms, it will seem that the majority of its stockpiled enriched uranium was not broken by the battle.
Israel struck each the Isfahan and Natanz nuclear amenities throughout the 12-day battle with Iran again in June, and the US struck each the websites as properly, along with the underground and hard-to-reach Fordo website, which Israel didn’t have the means to focus on alone.
The three amenities have been “massively broken” within the strikes, Grossi advised NZZ, which means that the IAEA would solely be capable to entry them, and the enriched uranium inside, if it have been to have “Iran’s full cooperation.”
“This can solely occur if Iran sees it as a nationwide curiosity,” he stated.
Rafael Grossi, Director Common of the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company, speaks exterior Vienna, Austria, on September 17, 2025. (Joe Klamar / AFP)
Though the IAEA believes it is aware of the place the uranium is positioned, Grossi stated that Iran’s lack of cooperation left key questions unanswered
“Will we get entry to this uranium? And what is going to occur to it then? Will Iran need to maintain it, will it scale back its enrichment ranges once more, or will Iran transfer this uranium overseas?” he requested. “There are lots of choices.”
Iran halted its cooperation with the IAEA following the battle with Israel, accusing the company of failing to adequately condemn the Israeli strikes.
As an alternative, Tehran and the IAEA have agreed to a brand new framework of cooperation, which can grant nuclear facility entry to UN nuclear inspectors solely after approval from Iran’s safety physique.
Nonetheless, Grossi advised NZZ that he wasn’t ruling out the opportunity of improved cooperation sooner or later, on condition that Iran has not withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and insists that it’s nonetheless open to discovering a diplomatic resolution to disputes over its nuclear program.
He known as for Iran to renew negotiations over a brand new nuclear deal, which have been suspended when Israel launched its shock assault in opposition to Tehran’s nuclear and missile capabilities on June 13.
“Sitting down collectively on the desk saves us the hazard of one other spherical of bombing and assaults,” he stated.
The IAEA’s evaluation that the majority of Iran’s enriched uranium was nonetheless housed throughout the nation’s broken nuclear amenities is shared by Tehran, whose overseas minister, Abbas Araghchi, stated final month that enriched nuclear materials remained “below the rubble” of amenities broken in Israeli strikes.
Iran, which avowedly seeks Israel’s destruction, denies making an attempt to achieve nuclear weapons, but it surely has enriched uranium to ranges that haven’t any peaceable software, obstructed worldwide inspectors from checking its nuclear amenities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. The Islamic Republic took steps towards weaponization shortly earlier than Israel launched its army operation in opposition to this system in June, in accordance with Jerusalem.
