Iran News: No Progress in Resolving Outstanding Safeguards Issues, IAEA Director General Says
Written by
Shahriar Kia
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has raised significant concerns over the Iranian regime’s escalating stockpile of enriched uranium, particularly the uranium enriched to 60%. Speaking at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting, Grossi highlighted the critical lack of progress in resolving several key safeguards issues related to Iran’s nuclear program.
Grossi’s report underscored that the IAEA has lost crucial continuity of knowledge regarding the production and inventory of Iran’s centrifuges, rotors, bellows, heavy water, and uranium ore concentrate. This knowledge gap has persisted for over three years, coinciding with Tehran’s suspension of its provisional application of the Additional Protocol. Consequently, the IAEA has been unable to conduct complementary access in Iran during this period.
Additionally, Grossi pointed out that Iran has not provided technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at sites in Varamin and Turquzabad. Iran has also failed to inform the Agency of the current locations of the nuclear material and/or contaminated equipment related to these particles.
“Iran’s public statements regarding its technical capabilities to produce nuclear weapons and potential changes to its nuclear doctrine only heighten my concerns about the accuracy and completeness of Iran’s safeguards declarations,” Grossi stated. He emphasized that these unresolved safeguards issues are fundamental to ensuring the exclusively peaceful nature of the regime’s nuclear program, as mandated by its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement.
Grossi’s recent visit to Tehran, where he met with key Iranian officials including the slain Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and the regime’s President of the Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, yielded proposals to reinvigorate the implementation of the Joint Statement of March 2023. However, he criticized Tehran’s refusal to reverse its decision to withdraw designations for several experienced IAEA inspectors, expressing deep regret over the regime’s continued obstruction.