The United States will not stand idly by if Iran gets "too close" to a nuclear weapon, the US Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley said in interview excerpts released on Wednesday ahead of next week's resumption of talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal.
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"If they start getting too close, too close for comfort, then, of course, we will not be prepared to sit idly by," he told National Public Radio in an interview according to excerpts released by the US broadcaster. He did not explain what "too close" meant nor did he detail US options in that case.
The head of the international nuclear watchdog warned Wednesday his inspectors are close to being unable to "guarantee" they know the size of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium, a stark alarm after his trip to Tehran produced no results.
Rafael Mariano Grossi's words sharply contrasted with the optimistic tone his Iranian hosts offered the day before. They signal the Islamic Republic's harder line as renewed talks over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers resume next week.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's inspectors remain unable to access surveillance footage and face greater challenges in trying to monitor Tehran's rapidly growing uranium stockpile, some of which is now enriched up to 60% purity — a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
"Our negotiations have been inconclusive, meaning that we could not finish," Grossi told reporters in Vienna, where the IAEA is based, after addressing the agency's board of governors. "I'm not giving up on trying to find some understanding, but in terms of what we were discussing yesterday, we could not conclude an agreement."
Pressed on whether any progress had been made, Grossi said that "in terms of the substance, no, quite clearly, we were not able to make progress." However, he said that having got to know the new Iranian officials was "a positive element" and "this will certainly help."
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