Iran could start enriching uranium again in ‘a matter of months’, the UN’s nuclear watchdog chief has warned.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said US air strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities had caused severe but ‘not total’ damage.
His remarks cast doubt on President Donald Trump’s claim that the sites were ‘totally obliterated’ by the ‘bunker-busting’ bomb and missile strikes.
Mr Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again if intelligence concluded the country could enrich uranium to concerning levels.
Mr Grossi said yesterday: ‘Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there.
‘The capacities they have are there. They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that.’
Asked about reports of Iran moving its stock of enriched uranium ahead of the US strikes, Mr Grossi said it was not clear where that material was.
‘Some could have been destroyed as part of the attack, but some could have been moved,’ he added.
Rafael Grossi (pictured last week), head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said US air strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities had caused severe but ‘not total’ damage
His remarks cast doubt on President Donald Trump’s claim that the sites were ‘totally obliterated’ by the ‘bunker-busting’ bomb and missile strikes. Pictured: Image taken on June 19 showing trucks positioned near the entrance of Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant
Mr Trump (pictured last Tuesday) said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again if intelligence concluded the country could enrich uranium to concerning levels.
Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire in their 12-day war last Monday.
Asked if Iran could still be in a position to ‘sprint towards a bomb’ if it wanted to, Mr Grossi said: ‘Iran had a very vast ambitious program, and part of it may still be there, and if not, there is also the self-evident truth that the knowledge is there. The industrial capacity is there.
‘Iran is a very sophisticated country in terms of nuclear technology.’
Last week, a leaked Pentagon preliminary assessment estimated the attacks aimed at preventing Iran from developing an atomic weapon had set the country’s nuclear programme back ‘only a few months’.