Washington, Military action has badly damaged Iran\u2019s nuclear programme, but it cannot wipe out the knowledge, materials, and industrial capacity that could allow Tehran to rebuild, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi said in an interview on Thursday.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grossi said the attacks had rolled back the programme \u201cconsiderably,\u201d but warned that key problems would remain once the fighting stops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne cannot deny that this has really rolled back the program considerably,\u201d he said. But he added that \u201conce the military effort comes to an end, we will still inherit several major issues.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chief among them, he said, is Iran\u2019s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 per cent. That level is close to weapons-grade.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat is going to still be where it is,\u201d Grossi said, adding that in some cases it could be \u201cunder the rubble, and in some cases no rubble.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also said some infrastructure and equipment may have survived the attacks, even if damaged. The full picture, he said, will only be clear when IAEA inspectors return to the sites.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grossi drew a sharp line between physical destruction and scientific capability.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t unlearn what you\u2019ve learned,\u201d he said, noting that Iran now has \u201cthe most sophisticated, fast and efficient machine that exists\u201d and knows how to make it.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the centrifuge programme could be rebuilt because it depends on industrial and metallurgical skills that are hard to erase. \u201cThis capability exists,\u201d he said.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grossi also cautioned against claims that war alone could end Iran\u2019s nuclear ambitions.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would say any war,\u201d he said, before adding that only a catastrophic nuclear war could destroy such a programme \u201cin an unfathomable way, which we hope, of course, will never be the case.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said Iran\u2019s nuclear file still requires an agreed international framework and renewed inspections. \u201cWe still need to find a framework, an agreed framework, that is going to provide us with the necessary visibility and sense of a clear idea of where they are, where they want to go,\u201d he said.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grossi said the IAEA had not observed major Iranian efforts to resume enrichment activity during the current military campaign. \u201cWe don\u2019t see major activity, which is logical,\u201d he said. But he stressed that the absence of visible activity does not mean the threat is gone.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA lot still has survived,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have the capabilities, they have the knowledge, they have the industrial ability to do that.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also said recovering or removing enriched material would be highly difficult. The material is stored in cylinders containing uranium hexafluoride gas enriched to 60 per cent.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is very difficult to handle,\u201d he said, calling any such operation \u201cvery challenging.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grossi said he has been in contact with officials in Washington and with Iran, and hopes inspectors can return once conditions allow. Iran, he noted, remains bound by treaty obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said diplomacy remains essential despite the war. \u201cFor a durable, long-standing solution, we will have to see each other again around the table,\u201d he said.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s nuclear programme has long been at the centre of tensions with the United States, Israel and European powers. \u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, had placed limits on Iran\u2019s enrichment activities, but that framework steadily weakened after the U.S. withdrawal and subsequent escalation between Tehran and the West.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IAEA has for years raised concerns over unanswered questions, restricted access and undeclared nuclear material. \u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grossi has repeatedly argued that inspections, verification and diplomacy remain the only sustainable tools for establishing what Iran has, what it can rebuild and where its programme is headed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington, Military action has badly damaged Iran\u2019s nuclear programme, but it cannot wipe out the knowledge, materials, and industrial capacity that could allow Tehran to rebuild, International Atomic Energy Agency […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-display","category-international","has_no_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsaxis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsaxis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsaxis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsaxis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsaxis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1982"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsaxis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1982\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1983,"href":"https:\/\/newsaxis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1982\/revisions\/1983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsaxis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsaxis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsaxis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}