The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has sounded the alarm over his agency’s diminishing ability to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities.
In a blunt assessment delivered to the IAEA’s Board of Governors on Tuesday, Director General Rafael Grossi stated that inspectors have “lost continuity of knowledge” over Iran’s production of advanced centrifuges, uranium enrichment levels, heavy water operations, and other sensitive components of the nuclear fuel cycle.
According to CNN, Grossi’s frustrations appeared compounded by revelations that a draft resolution circulated by three European nations censuring Iran’s non-compliance was already prompting threats of retaliation from the Islamic Republic. Over the weekend, a senior Iranian official close to the negotiations warned of a “serious and effective response” if the IAEA board approves the resolution.
“Public statements made in Iran regarding its technical capabilities to produce nuclear weapons and possible changes to Iran’s nuclear doctrine only increase my concerns about the correctness and completeness of Iran’s safeguards declarations,” Grossi said.
Earlier this month, Grossi assessed that Iran was mere “weeks away” from enriching sufficient uranium for one nuclear weapon if it chose to take that fateful step. He also claimed that the IAEA has made “no progress” resolving the presence of undeclared uranium particles at sites in Varamin and Turquzabad.
Since 2019, Iran has incrementally chipped away at outside access to its nuclear program by restricting access to the IAEA. However, even as Grossi cataloged a sobering litany of concerns about safeguards being eroded, he seemed reluctant to decisively call for punitive actions that could prompt the expulsion of its inspectors.
With tensions in the Middle East still hot following the regime’s unprecedented missile strike against Israel in April, it remains uncertain if any viable diplomatic solutions remain to walk Iran back from the nuclear brink.
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