WANA (Jul 03) – Rafael Grossi said that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have not yet returned to Iran’s nuclear facilities and that the agency believes Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium remains at the sites.

 

Grossi said the IAEA had requested access to the facilities but had not yet received permission to return. He added that while the agency had reasonable grounds to believe the enriched uranium was still there, it could not confirm this until inspectors were able to conduct on-site inspections and verify the material.

 

He said the IAEA’s assessment was based on its last routine inspection before last summer’s 12-day war, noting that the agency knew the location and quantity of the material at that time.

 

Since then, he said, the IAEA had relied on satellite imagery and other monitoring tools and had not detected any significant movement of the uranium, although the facilities had suffered extensive damage and access to some sites had been blocked.

 

Grossi also expressed hope that IAEA inspectors would be able to return to Iran’s nuclear facilities within the coming weeks.

 

He noted that the memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the United States provided a 60-day period to reach a comprehensive agreement, adding that the talks covered not only the nuclear issue but also freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and territorial integrity issues related to the ceasefire.

 

He said the issues under discussion were broad and highly complex, but expressed hope that a final agreement within the allotted timeframe would allow substantive work to begin, including restoring IAEA access to Iran’s nuclear facilities.