Iran could start enriching uranium for bomb within months, UN nuclear chief says

The leader of the UN’s nuclear agency has stated that Iran can resume uranium enrichment for a potential bomb within “a matter of months.”

Rafael Grossi, leader of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stated that the US attacks on three Iranian sites last weekend resulted in significant yet “not complete” damage, countering Donald Trump’s assertion that Iran’s nuclear facilities were “completely destroyed.”

“Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there,” Grossi said on Saturday.

Israel attacked nuclear and military sites in Iran on 13 June, claiming Iran was close to building a nuclear weapon.

Subsequently, the US participated in the attacks, releasing bombs on three nuclear sites in Iran: Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan.

Since that time, the actual scale of the destruction has remained vague. The IAEA isn’t the initial organization to propose that Iran’s nuclear capabilities might persist – earlier this week, a leaked preliminary assessment from the Pentagon indicated that the US attacks likely only delayed the program by a few months.

Future intelligence reports may contain additional information indicating a different extent of damage to the facilities.

Trump retorted furiously by declaring that Iran’s nuclear sites were “completely destroyed” and accused the media of “an attempt to demean one of the most successful military strikes in history”.

For now, Iran and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire.Iran, in contrast, has conveyed inconsistent signals regarding the extent of the damage incurred.

In a Thursday address, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated that the strikes had not accomplished anything noteworthy. Its foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, however, mentioned that “significant and serious” harm occurred.

Iran’s already-tense relationship with the IAEA faced additional strain on Wednesday, as its parliament decided to halt collaboration with the nuclear watchdog, alleging that the IAEA was favoring Israel and the United States.

Tehran has dismissed the IAEA’s demand to examine the affected facilities, and on Friday, Araghchi stated on X that “Grossi’s insistence on inspecting the bombed locations under the guise of safeguards is pointless and potentially even malicious in nature.”

Israel and the US launched an attack on Iran after the IAEA discovered last month that Tehran had violated its non-proliferation commitments for the first time in two decades. Iran claims that its nuclear program is intended solely for peaceful and civilian purposes. Although the Iranian government declined to collaborate with his organization, Grossi expressed optimism about the possibility of negotiating with Tehran.

“I have to sit down with Iran and look into this, because at the end of the day, this whole thing, after the military strikes, will have to have a long-lasting solution, which cannot be but a diplomatic one,” he said.

According to a 2015 nuclear agreement with global powers, Iran was restricted from enriching uranium beyond 3.67% purity—the necessary level for fuel for civilian nuclear reactors—and was prohibited from conducting any enrichment at its Fordo facility for 15 years.

Trump, however, left the accord in 2018 during his initial term, claiming it did insufficient work to prevent a route to a nuclear weapon and reimposed US sanctions. Iran responded by progressively violating the limits, especially those pertaining to enrichment. It restarted enrichment at Fordo in 2021 and had gathered sufficient 60%-enriched uranium to possibly create nine nuclear weapons, based on the IAEA.