Iran could again enrich uranium ‘in matter of months’: UN nuclear watchdog chief
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A Maxar satellite image showing damage at Iran’s Fordow enrichment facility after strikes on June 23.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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WASHINGTON - UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Iran likely will be able to begin to produce enriched uranium “in a matter of months”, despite damage to several nuclear facilities from US and Israeli attacks, CBS News reported on June 28.
Israel launched a bombing campaign
The US subsequently bombed three key facilities
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the extent of the damage to the nuclear sites is “serious”, but the details are unknown.
US President Donald Trump insisted Iran’s nuclear programme had been set back “decades”.
But Mr Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said some of Iran’s capabilities are “still standing”.
“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,” he said on June 27, according to a transcript of the interview released on June 28.
Another key question is whether Iran was able to relocate some or all of its estimated 408.6kg stockpile of highly enriched uranium before the attacks.
The uranium in question is enriched to 60 per cent – above levels for civilian usage but still below weapons grade. That material, if further refined, would theoretically be sufficient to produce more than nine nuclear bombs.
Mr Grossi admitted to CBS: “We don’t know where this material could be.
“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.”
For now, Iranian lawmakers voted to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, and Tehran rejected Mr Grossi’s request for a visit to the damaged sites, especially Fordow, the 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,” Mr Grossi said.
IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi said Iran’s estimated 400kg stockpile of highly enriched uranium is enough to produce at least nine nuclear bombs.
PHOTO: EPA
In a separate interview with Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures programme, Mr Trump said he did not think the stockpile had been moved.
“It’s a very hard thing to do, plus we didn’t give much notice,” he said, according to excerpts of the interview. “They didn’t move anything.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on June 28 underscored Washington’s support for “the IAEA’s critical verification and monitoring efforts in Iran”, commending Mr Grossi and his agency for their “dedication and professionalism”.
The full interview with Mr Grossi will air on Face The Nation With Margaret Brennan on June 29. AFP
