Iran could access its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium if it decides to retrieve the material thought to be entombed at sites bombed by the US, according to the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
“It is accessible if there’s a wish to go there,” director-general Rafael Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on April 29 in an interview on Bloomberg TV.
While IAEA inspectors have not visited the sites where the material is located in 10 months, Dr Grossi said that satellite images suggest that the majority of material remains buried at the location it was last seen near the Iranian city of Isfahan.
The IAEA chief spoke as Washington and Tehran struggle to resume negotiations to end the conflict, which continues to restrict energy flows through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited before the war began in February.
Dr Grossi said that he is in touch with White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“It’s on and off but there is a conversation,” said Dr Grossi, adding that his inspectors will remain critical to any outcome. “An agreement without verification is an illusion.”
Iran has reportedly proposed an interim deal to reopen Hormuz in exchange for Washington ending its blockade of Iranian ports, while postponing more complex negotiations over the country’s nuclear programme.
The White House said on April 27 that US officials were discussing Iran’s latest proposal but maintained “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war, including preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The Islamic republic has denied pursuing such an objective. BLOOMBERG
