Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi disclosed Sunday that enrichment of uranium has stopped completely throughout the nation following strikes that damaged nuclear facilities, Associated Press reported.
During an interview with an Associated Press correspondent visiting Tehran, Araghchi delivered the government's clearest statement yet on the nuclear program's condition after Israel and the US bombed enrichment sites in June. "There is no undeclared nuclear enrichment in Iran. All of our facilities are under the safeguards and monitoring" of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the foreign minister stated, Associated Press noted. "There is no enrichment right now because our enrichment facilities have been attacked." Tehran issued a three-day visa to the Associated Press journalist attending a summit with reporters from major British outlets and other media.
A Wednesday report from the UN atomic watchdog revealed Iran continues denying inspectors entry to nuclear locations targeted during June bombardment, with enriched uranium inventory accounting remaining "long overdue," Reuters indicated. IAEA protocols require monthly verification of highly enriched uranium stockpiles, particularly material reaching 60% purity levels in Iran – nearing the approximately 90% weapons-grade threshold. The agency has demanded for months that Tehran reveal the material's location and restore full inspection access, Reuters stated. While a September Cairo agreement intended to enable this, limited progress occurred and Iran now considers the agreement "is void."
"The Agency's lack of access to this nuclear material in Iran for five months means that its verification ... is long overdue," the International Atomic Energy Agency stated in a confidential member state report reviewed by Reuters. "It is critical that the Agency is able to verify the inventories of previously declared nuclear material in Iran as soon as possible in order to allay its concerns ... regarding the possible diversion of declared nuclear material from peaceful use," the IAEA added.
The report characterized Iran's highly enriched uranium production and storage volume as "a matter of serious concern," Reuters noted. Continuity of knowledge regarding enriched uranium stockpiles has been lost by the IAEA, making comprehensive information reconstruction challenging. Among 13 facilities "unaffected" by strikes, inspectors have visited only some, while the seven bombed locations remain completely unexamined, the agency confirmed, Reuters stated.
