The IAEA believes that Iran is capable of producing uranium to make a nuclear bomb in “a few weeks”, but opposes the plan to attack the country’s atomic facilities.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the United Nations, on April 22 responded to German media that Iran “only needs a few weeks, not months” to produce enough uranium. to make nuclear weapons.
Grossi said that Iran’s nuclear program still has many unknowns to international monitoring agencies, as IAEA inspectors discovered traces of enriched uranium in a number of locations never seen before. He also expressed concern about the situation of UN inspectors being made difficult in accessing Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“However, this does not mean that Iran already possesses nuclear weapons or can possess nuclear weapons in just a few weeks. A completed nuclear warhead requires many other factors, not only related to production.” export of radioactive materials,” he emphasized.
Location of Iran’s nuclear facilities. Graphics: FT
The IAEA leader made his comments amid a dangerous escalation in Israel-Iran tensions since early April, after Tehran accused Tel Aviv of being behind an airstrike that destroyed the consulate in Syria and killed two brigadier generals. Iran retaliated with an attack campaign on April 13. On April 19, US officials announced that Israel had retaliated against the air base in Isfahan, near the Iranian nuclear facility.
A series of retaliations between the two countries has raised concerns about a dangerous escalation of the conflict, with Israel’s next targets being Iran’s nuclear facility. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that the country may reconsider its nuclear doctrine after being threatened by Israel with an attack.
“Attacking a nuclear facility is a scenario no one wants,” Mr. Grossi warned. “The way the parties normalize speech about nuclear weapons, the use of nuclear weapons and the possession of nuclear weapons is unacceptable.”
Technician at a uranium processing facility in Isfahan, Iran, about 340 km south of Tehran, March 2005. Image: Reuters
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is the person who has the right to decide on Tehran’s nuclear program, which is suspected by the West of serving military purposes. Mr. Khamenei in 2019 reaffirmed that Iran’s nuclear program only serves peaceful purposes and opposes the creation and stockpiling of nuclear bombs.
Iran in 2015 reached a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement with six major powers. Under the agreement, Tehran will limit its nuclear activities to gain partial relief from sanctions. The US in 2018 withdrew from the JCPOA and re-imposed strict sanctions on Iran. Tehran also abandoned its commitments in the agreement in response.
The US and Iran began indirect negotiations, with the EU acting as an intermediary, to restore the JCPOA from April 2021 in Vienna, Austria, but this process has been deadlocked since 2022. Mr. Grossi said in February that Iran continues to enrich uranium to a purity rate of up to 60%, far beyond the level needed for commercial use.
Name (According to Times of Israel)
