Nuclear watchdog: Iran must "seriously improve” work with UN inspectors

Iran must “seriously improve” its cooperation with United Nations inspectors to prevent further escalation of tensions with the West, the Financial Times reported on November 5, citing International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi.

Grossi told the FT that although the IAEA had conducted around a dozen inspections in Iran since hostilities with Israel erupted in June, inspectors had not been granted access to key nuclear facilities such as Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, which were bombed by the United States.

In October, Grossi said that movement had been detected near Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, though he emphasised that it did “not imply that there is activity on enrichment.”

Following that statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei asserted that Grossi was “fully aware of the peaceful nature” of Iran’s nuclear program and should refrain from expressing “unfounded opinions” about it.

According to the report, Iranian officials have accused the IAEA of providing justification for Israel’s bombing, which began a day after the agency’s board voted to declare Iran in violation of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Grossi told the FT that while the IAEA was seeking to manage its “bumpy” relationship with Iran in a constructive manner, Tehran still had to uphold its commitments.

“You cannot say, ‘I remain within the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons treaty,’ and then not comply with obligations,” Grossi said.

“You cannot expect the IAEA to say, ‘OK, since there was a war, you are in a different category’ … Otherwise, what I will have to do is report that I have lost all visibility of this material,” he added.

Grossi also noted that almost all of Iran’s enriched uranium remained within the country despite the strikes by Israel and the United States.

“The damage was enormous, but we estimate that most, if not all, of the uranium enriched to 60%, as well as 20%, 5% and 2%, is still there. The material is still there, and while we are not linking it to any end goal, obviously, the mere existence of material of such a high level of enrichment, close to weapons grade, is a concern,” Grossi was quoted as saying.

By Tamilla Hasanova