Iran Could Resume Uranium Enrichment Within Months, Says UN Nuclear Chief
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. Photo Credit: Dean Calma / IAEA
By RFE RL
(RFE/RL) — Iran could resume producing enriched uranium within months despite significant damage inflicted on its nuclear facilities by recent US and Israeli air strikes, according to Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
“The capacities they have are there. They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that,” Grossi told CBS News in an interview scheduled to air on June 29.
Grossi, who leads the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), acknowledged that attacks on sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan had set back Iran’s capacity to convert and enrich uranium.
However, he cautioned: “Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there.”
“Iran is a very sophisticated country in terms of nuclear technology,” Grossi said. “So you cannot disinvent this. You cannot undo the knowledge that you have or the capacities that you have.”
Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iranian nuclear and military sites on June 13, stating its aim was to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons — an objective Iran denies, insisting its program is solely for peaceful purposes.
The United States later joined the strikes, targeting three key facilities linked to Iran’s atomic program.
US President Donald Trump claimed on June 26 that Iran’s nuclear program had been set back “decades” and said he would consider further strikes if Iran resumed worrying levels of uranium enrichment.
On June 29, Trump told Fox News that Iran’s nuclear capabilities were “obliterated like nobody’s ever seen before. And that meant the end to their nuclear ambitions, at least for a period of time.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi confirmed that the damage to nuclear sites was “serious,” though details remain unclear.
A major unresolved issue is the fate of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, enriched to 60 percent — above levels needed for civilian use but still below weapons grade. Iran is estimated to have had around 400 kilograms of this uranium.
“We don’t know where this material could be,” Grossi said. “So some could have been destroyed as part of the attack, but some could have been moved. So there has to be at some point a clarification.”
In his interview with Fox News, Trump indicated that he did not believe Iran had relocated its stockpile.
“It’s a very hard thing to do plus we didn’t give much notice. They didn’t move anything,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iranian lawmakers voted to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, and Tehran denied Grossi’s request to visit the damaged sites, including Fordow, Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility.
“We need to be in a position to ascertain, to confirm what is there, and where is it and what happened,” Grossi said.
Following calls in the hard-line Iranian Kayhan newspaper for the “arrest and execution” of the IAEA chief, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said such statements were “unacceptable and should be condemned.”
“We support the IAEA’s critical verification and monitoring efforts in Iran and commend the Director General and the lAEA for their dedication and professionalism,” he said. “We call on Iran to provide for the safety and security of IAEA personnel.”
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, however, assured Grossi needs not to worry. In an interview with US broadcaster CBS, Amir Saeid Iravani said “there is not any threat” against the inspectors or the director general. “Inspectors in Iran were “in safe conditions,” he added.
Separately, French President Emmanuel Macron said he held a telephone conversation with Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian on June 29, telling him that Tehran’s best course of action was to return to the negotiating table and to allow resumption of the IAEA’s work in the country.
RFE RL
RFE/RL journalists report the news in 21 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established.
France, Germany and Britain on Monday condemned "threats" against the head of the UN nuclear watchdog after Iran rejected its request to visit nuclear facilities bombed by Israel and the United States.
Issued on: 30/06/2025 - RFI
Tehran has accused Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, of "betrayal of his duties" for not condemning the Israeli and US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, and Iranian lawmakers this week voted to suspend cooperation with the agency.
"France, Germany and the United Kingdom condemn threats against the director general of the IAEA Rafael Grossi and reiterate our full support to the agency," foreign ministers Jean-Noël Barrot, Johann Wadephul and David Lammy said in a joint statement.
"We call on Iranian authorities to refrain from any steps to cease cooperation with the IAEA," they added.
"We urge Iran to immediately resume full cooperation in line with its legally binding obligations, and to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of IAEA personnel."
Excuse
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that Grossi's insistence on visiting the bombed sites was "meaningless and possibly even malign in intent".
Iran has said it believes an IAEA resolution on 12 June that accused Iran of ignoring its nuclear obligations served as an "excuse" for the war that Israel launched on 13 June and that ended with a fragile ceasefire last week.
Iran nuclear sites suffered 'enormous damage', IAEA chief tells RFI
Argentina, Rafael Grossi's home country, has also slammed "threats" against him from Iran.
None specified which threats they were referring to, but Iran's ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper recently claimed documents showed Grossi was an Israeli spy and should be executed.
Speaking to US broadcaster CBS on Sunday, Iranian ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani denied there was any threat to nuclear inspectors in Iran, insisting they were "in safe conditions" but their work was suspended.
Downplayed damage
Questions remain as to how much damage the US strikes did to Iran's nuclear programme, with President Donald Trump and his officials insisting it had been "obliterated".
On Sunday, however, The Washington Post reported that the United States had intercepted calls between Iranian officials who said the damage was less than expected.
That followed an early "low confidence" US military intelligence report that said the nuclear programme had been set back months, not years.
Israel has said Iran's programme was delayed by years, while Tehran has downplayed the damage.
The IAEA said Iran had been enriching uranium to 60 percent, far above the levels needed for civilian nuclear power, although Grossi previously noted there had been no indication before the strikes that Iran was working to build an atomic weapon.
On Saturday, Grossi told CBS Iran likely will be able to begin to produce enriched uranium "in a matter of months," despite damage.
Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own nuclear arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) has estimated it has 90 nuclear warheads.
(with AFP)
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