Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that the country had no undeclared uranium-enrichment sites and that all its facilities were monitored by the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
“There’s no undeclared nuclear enrichment facility in Iran; all of our facilities are under the safeguard and monitoring of the agency,” Araghchi said during a forum in Tehran, adding that there was “no enrichment” at present because the sites were damaged in the 12-day war with Israel.
Earlier, the UN nuclear oversight body had urged Iran to permit verification of its enriched uranium holdings, particularly its sensitive reserves of highly enriched uranium that were “long overdue” for inspection, based on a confidential document obtained by AFP.
Relations between Iran and the UN nuclear agency have frequently escalated in recent years, with ties worsening further following a 12-day conflict in June involving Israeli and US attacks on major Iranian nuclear installations.
Following the conflict, inspectors from the agency have been denied entry to critical nuclear locations like Fordo and Natanz, which suffered damage in the June strikes, though they have gained access to other facilities.
In its most recent confidential document, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that it “has lost continuity of knowledge in relation to previously declared inventories of nuclear material in Iran at the affected facilities”, encompassing its reserves of near-weapons-grade uranium.
The IAEA estimated that Iran possessed about 440.9 kilograms enriched to up to 60 percent as of June 13, but has not been able to confirm this. In theory, that amount could be sufficient to manufacture around 10 nuclear bombs.
The agency noted that Iran remains the sole non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium to 60 percent, nearing the 90 percent level theoretically needed for a bomb. Iran’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade uranium represented “a matter of serious concern”, according to the document, which emphasized that verification after five months without access “is long overdue”.
“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 and ensure compliance” with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) safeguards agreement, the document stated.
“The re-establishment of the current status of such inventories… needs urgently to be addressed,” it further noted.
Tehran signed the NPT in 1970, obligating it to report its nuclear material to the IAEA. In its quarterly document, the IAEA also indicated that the NPT safeguards agreement obliges Iran to submit a “special report without delay on the status… of the nuclear material and facilities affected by the military attacks”.
IAEA director Rafael Grossi stated in the document that he “has made clear to Iran that it is indispensable and urgent to implement safeguards activities in Iran in accordance with the NPT”, noting that its application “cannot be suspended under any circumstances”.
Western nations and Israel have persistently charged Iran with pursuing nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran rejects. Prior to the hostilities, the IAEA reported it had “no indication” of a “systematic programme” in Iran aimed at developing a nuclear weapon.
Grossi had earlier informed French radio RTL that the June attacks on Iran were “devastating”, stating they had “considerably” set back Tehran’s capacity to obtain nuclear weapons.
“That does not mean that Iran no longer has the capabilities. Once a country reaches a threshold of knowledge and technological capabilities, they can be rebuilt,” Grossi was quoted as saying.
The new IAEA document emerges amid stalled nuclear negotiations between Iran and global powers. A 2015 agreement that had been scrapped restricted Tehran’s nuclear activities in return for easing sanctions.
However, it started collapsing after Donald Trump, in 2018, single-handedly pulled the United States out of the historic accord with Tehran in his initial presidency
Via: Agence France-Presse
