UN watchdog chief says Iran ‘not far’ from nuclear bomb

TEHRAN – The United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi warned on April 16 that Iran was “not far” from possessing a nuclear bomb, shortly before he arrived in Tehran for talks.

Western countries including the United States have long suspected Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran has consistently denied, insisting that its programme is for peaceful civilian purposes.

“It’s like a puzzle. They have the pieces, and one day, they could eventually put them together,” Mr Grossi told French newspaper Le Monde, in an interview published on April 16.

“There’s still a way to go before they get there. But they’re not far off, that has to be acknowledged,” he said.

The UN watchdog was tasked with overseeing Iran’s nuclear programme and its compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal which collapsed three years later when

the US withdrew from it

in US President Donald Trump’s first term.

“It’s not enough to tell the international community ‘we don’t have nuclear weapons’ for them to believe you. We need to be able to verify,” said Mr Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He arrived on April 16 in Tehran, where he is due to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Mr Mohammad Eslami, who heads Iran’s nuclear energy agency.

Mr Grossi’s visit comes ahead of a second round of talks between Iran and the US on April 19, a week after the two countries

held their highest-level talks

since Mr Trump abandoned the nuclear deal in 2018.

‘Conflicting positions’

Both sides called the first meeting “constructive”.

Earlier, Mr Araghchi said Iran’s enrichment of uranium under its nuclear programme

was “non-negotiable”

after US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff called for it to end.

“Iran’s enrichment is a real, accepted matter,” he told reporters.

“We are ready to build confidence in response to possible concerns, but the issue of enrichment is non-negotiable.”

His remarks came after Mr Witkoff said on April 15 Iran must “stop and eliminate” enriching uranium as part of any nuclear deal.

The day before, Mr Witkoff had urged only that Iran return to the 3.67 per cent enrichment ceiling set by its 2015 accord with major powers.

In its latest report, the IAEA said Iran had an estimated 274.8kg of uranium enriched to up to 60 per cent.

That level far exceeds the 3.67 per cent ceiling set by the 2015 deal, but still falls short of the 90 per cent threshold required for a nuclear warhead.

After returning to office in January, Mr Trump reimposed sweeping sanctions against Iran under his policy of “maximum pressure”.

In March,

he wrote to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging talks

but also warning of possible military action if they fail to produce a deal.

Ahead of April 19’s new round of talks, Mr Araghchi condemned what he called the Trump administration’s “contradictory and conflicting positions”.

“We will find out the true opinions of the Americans during the negotiation session,” he said.

Mr Araghchi said he hoped to start negotiations on the framework of a possible agreement, but that this required “constructive positions” from the US.

“If we continue to (hear) contradictory and conflicting positions, we are going to have problems,” he warned.

Iran’s ‘red lines’

On April 16, the Iranian state media said the April 19 talks will be in Rome with Omani mediation, as an Italian spokesman also confirmed the location.

However, US and Iranian officials have not officially confirmed the venue.

Mr Araghchi is set to head to Iran’s ally Russia on April 17, Tehran’s ambassador in Moscow Kazem Jalili said.

Iran has said the visit was “pre-planned”, but will include discussions on the Iran-US talks.

“The objective of (my) trip to Russia is to convey a written message from the Supreme Leader” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Araghchi said.

In readiness for the US talks, Iran has engaged with Russia and China, which were both parties to the 2015 deal.

Ahead of the April 12 talks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he hoped a deal could be reached with the US, the official IRNA news agency reported.

On April 15, Ayatollah Khamenei cautioned that while the talks went well in their early stages, they could still prove fruitless.

“The negotiations may or may not yield results,” he said, noting that Iran had already outlined its “red lines”.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have said the country’s military capabilities are off-limits in the talks.

Late on April 13, IRNA said Iran’s regional influence and its missile capabilities – both sources of Western concern – were also among its “red lines”. AFP