IAEA says 'unable' to verify status of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile since 12-day war
The nuclear watchdog’s chief recently claimed Iran could build 10 nuclear bombs with its stockpile
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it has not been able to verify the status of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles since the US-Israeli war against the country in June, according to a confidential report seen by AFP and other news agencies on 12 November.
“The Agency’s lack of access to this nuclear material in Iran for five months means that its verification is long overdue,” the IAEA report said.
“It is critical that the Agency is able to verify the inventories of previously declared nuclear material in Iran as soon as possible in order to allay its concerns ... regarding the possible diversion of declared nuclear material from peaceful use,” it added.
An IAEA report in September had claimed Iran maintains a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms (972 lbs) of highly enriched uranium.
In a recent interview, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said this was enough for up to 10 nuclear bombs if Tehran decided to weaponize its program. Yet the Islamic Republic insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
Iran has limited its cooperation with the IAEA since the end of the US-Israeli war against the country, accusing the agency of failing to condemn the attacks and of passing along sensitive information to Israel.
Earlier this week, Tehran confirmed inspections were ongoing.
“As long as we are a member of the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons), we will abide by our commitments, and just last week, IAEA inspectors visited several nuclear facilities, including the Tehran Research Reactor,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said.
However, the IAEA has not been given access to sites bombed during the war, such as Natanz and Fordow. Iran’s foreign minister said earlier this year that the IAEA's demand for access to the bombed sites was “malicious.”
Late last month, Iran, Russia, and China officially declared an end to the IAEA mandate that was holding Tehran to a 2015 nuclear deal that the US abandoned in 2018.
Ambassadors and permanent representatives of the three countries sent a joint letter to Grossi, confirming that the agency’s verification and monitoring duties under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) had officially expired.
Nuclear talks between Iran and the US have been halted since the US-backed Israeli war against Iran started on 13 June.
The Islamic Republic says it is only willing to negotiate if the US drops its unrealistic demands, including zero uranium enrichment and curbs on the Iranian ballistic missile program.
“Some messages have already been conveyed through intermediaries from the US, but as long as Washington continues to make excessive demands and seeks to impose its style of negotiation, our position is clear,” Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Wednesday.
“The more the US demonstrates a realistic and correct approach to negotiations, the more we will be, as always, ready to protect and guarantee our national interests. Iran absolutely does not welcome any war, but is prepared for all possible scenarios,” she added.