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Grossi has maintained that the IAEA seeks dialogue with Iran
Tehran’s enrichment of uranium and a lack of access to international monitors fuel suspicions about its nuclear activities. But the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says he remains committed to dialog.
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.
08:54
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 center of this dialogue that I have been and I am still trying to conduct with Iran.”
D/C: Good luck on the dialogue. These talks have been going on for how many years??!! Do not forget North Korea’s co-operation with Iran since before 2015.
Mark Collins 3Ds Blog 