Seoul, South Korea — The UN nuclear watchdog chief said on Wednesday that “very detailed” verification measures would be taken Iran’s nuclear activities This should be included in a potential US-Iran agreement to end its war in the Middle East.
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency rafael grossi As US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, he stressed the need for a complete verification regime for Iran’s nuclear program. second round of talks It may happen with Iran in the next two days.
The Trump administration has said that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is a major war objective. Iran has previously said it is not developing such weapons but has rejected limits on its nuclear program.
Last weekend in Pakistan, initial round of talks No agreement could be reached between the two countries. The White House said Iran’s nuclear ambitions were a main sticking point. But an Iranian diplomatic official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the closed-door talks, denied that talks over Iran’s nuclear ambitions had failed.
“Iran has a very ambitious, extensive nuclear program, so all of that will require the presence of IAEA inspectors,” Grossi told reporters in Seoul. “Otherwise, you will have no agreement. You will have the illusion of agreement.”
He said any agreement on nuclear technology “requires a very detailed verification mechanism.”
Iran has not allowed the IAEA access to its nuclear facilities that were bombed by Israel and the United States during the 12-day war in June, according to a report. Confidential IAEA report Distributed to member countries and viewed by The Associated Press in February.
The report emphasizes that it “cannot verify whether Iran has suspended all enrichment-related activities,” or “the size of Iran’s uranium stockpile at affected nuclear facilities.”
Iran has long insisted that its program is peaceful, but the IAEA and Western countries say Tehran had an organized nuclear weapons program by 2003.
The IAEA has said Iran has a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms (972 lb) of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a small, technical step away from the weapons-grade level of 90%.
Grossi has previously said that the stockpile could allow Iran to produce more than 10 nuclear bombs if it decides to weaponize its program.
According to IAEA guidelines, such highly enriched nuclear material must generally be verified every month.
