TEHRAN, April 23 — Iran is “weeks rather than months” away from having enough enriched uranium to develop a nuclear bomb, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi told DW.
“But that does not mean that Iran has or would have a nuclear weapon in that space of time,” he added.
He said while enrichment at near-military levels is a cause for alarm, one cannot draw the direct conclusion that Iran now has a nuclear weapon.
“A functional nuclear warhead requires many other things independently from the production of the fissile material, in this case, the uranium, including perhaps being tested,” Grossi said.
He also said Iran’s objectives are “a matter of speculation.”
The Iranian public line is that this material is needed for medical or civilian purposes.
IAEA still seeking more access in Iran
Grossi said the IAEA was not getting the level of access he believes it needs in Iran, which he said added more to the speculation around its nuclear activity.
“I have been telling my Iranian counterparts time and again... this activity raises eyebrows, and compounded with the fact that we are not getting the necessary degree of access and visibility that I believe should be necessary,” he said.
“So when you put all of that together, then of course you end up with lots of question marks.”
Grossi highlighted unresolved IAEA findings, including traces of enriched uranium in unexpected locations, exacerbating doubts about Iran’s transparency.
“This has been at the centre of this dialogue that I have been and I am still trying to conduct with Iran.”
Nuclear threats ‘absolutely deplorable’
Turning to the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, Grossi condemned any notion of attacking nuclear facilities.
“Attacking nuclear facilities is an absolute no-go,” he said.
Grossi noted a worrying trend of the threat of nuclear attack or nuclear weapons being dropped.
“So I believe that this normalization of talk about nuclear weapons, dropping nuclear weapons, getting nuclear weapons is absolutely deplorable,” he added.
Reacting to reported talks between the United States and Iran, the IAEA chief said his agency always tries to promote the dialogue.
“And what I am interested in is the dialogue between us, the IAEA and Iran, because there are many things that need to be clarified and it is for this that we are going to be travelling to Tehran soon,” he said.
Grossi said his message to the Iranians would be that Iran should cooperate more.
“I will be there to try to put these things back on track if they want to be believed,” he added. — DW
