Iran’s nuclear programme under scrutiny: IAEA pushes for enhanced transparency

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, emphasized the urgent need for diplomatic solutions to the ongoing situation surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme ahead of his planned visit to Tehran.

“The Iranian authorities must understand that the international environment is becoming increasingly tense, that the room for manoeuvre is beginning to shrink, and those ways must be found for a diplomatic solution,” Grossi stressed, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

He acknowledged that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 agreement on Iran's nuclear programme, has become an “empty shell.” Reflecting on Donald Trump’s presidency, Grossi noted that he had managed to collaborate effectively with Trump’s team, even though it was under Trump's leadership that the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018.

“The agency is working in Iran, conducting inspections, but I’ve always said we need more transparency. We need to be able to see more. Given the breadth, depth, and ambition of Iran’s programme, we need to find ways to give the agency more surveillance capabilities,” Grossi emphasized.

The JCPOA, signed in 2015 by Iran and international mediators, including Russia, Britain, Germany, China, France, and the United States, aimed to resolve a crisis that began in 2004 when Western nations accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons, leading to sanctions. However, Trump's decision to pull the US out of the agreement in 2018 undermined the accord.

US media reports, citing Iranian officials, suggest that Tehran believes a new agreement with the US following Trump's most recent election victory would be stronger and more enduring. President Massoud Pezeshkian of the Islamic Republic has reiterated that Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons and is prepared to fully resume its commitments under the JCPOA.

In late October, Kamal Kharazi, head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, hinted that Iran might alter its nuclear doctrine in the face of an "existential threat." Kharazi, who serves as a foreign policy adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated, “We now have the necessary capabilities to produce nuclear weapons, and the only obstacle is the fatwa that prohibits it.”

Kharazi also indicated that Iran could expand its missile programme, highlighting the sensitivity of missile range concerns for Western countries, especially Europeans. “If they do not take into account our concerns, especially on the issue of the territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, there is no reason for us to take into account their concerns,” he asserted.

Khamenei’s 2010 fatwa bans the production of all weapons of mass destruction and was presented at the International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament. Former Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif has reiterated that Khamenei’s opposition to nuclear weapons is rooted not only in religious beliefs but also in strategic considerations. Nevertheless, critics argue that the fatwa might be more advisory than a binding decree in the long term.

Amid rising tensions, Iran’s Foreign Ministry assured the public in late October that the country had no intention of developing nuclear weapons following Israeli strikes.

On the night of October 26, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) conducted airstrikes against military facilities across three Iranian provinces — Tehran, Khuzestan, and Ilam — after Iran launched missile attacks on Israel.

The IDF targeted surface-to-air missile systems, air defence facilities, and missile production sites that had been used for strikes against Israel. The Israeli military claimed these operations had substantially weakened Iran’s “strategic defence capability,” though Tehran maintained that the damage was minimal.

By Tamilla Hasanova