Vienna (TDI): The head of the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency has cautioned that Iran may resume its nuclear enrichment program in just a few months despite the recent dual airstrikes by the United States and Israel at its nuclear facilities.
Rafael Grossi, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that although major Iranian facilities have been hit, parts of the infrastructure remain operational. He said that Iran can still resume the enrichment process, a move that would take the country closer to weapons-grade capacity.
“They are able to, in a matter of a few months, construct tens of cascades of rotating centrifuges that are capable of producing enriched uranium,” Grossi told CBS News. “The time frame might even be shorter.”
Grossi’s remarks came not long after US President Donald Trump claimed that the recent attacks had pushed Iran’s nuclear aspirations “back by decades.”
However, Grossi refused that claim pointing out that Iran still holds large stock pile of uranium enriched to 60%, just below weapons-grade, which, if further refined, can be used to produce multiple nuclear warheads.
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On June 13, Israeli bombings hit a number of military and nuclear facilities in Iran, which were then followed by American attacks on three key installations. Iran has since halted cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and refused inspectors access to its underground Fordow nuclear site.
This has made it even harder to assess the actual extent of the damage caused by the US B-2 bombers which attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities, under the name Operation Midnight Hammer.
“We must ensure that we can verify the situation as it stands today, where it is, and what occurred,” Grossi stated, emphasizing the utmost necessity for the restoration of access.
Iran’s Parliament suspended IAEA’s access to its nuclear facilities citing the negative role the agency played in sharing sensitive information with Israel, prompting Israeli attacks.
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