Shafaq News- Vienna

Iran has yet to account for 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity nearly a year after US and Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities, according to a confidential International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report seen by Reuters on Thursday.

Questions over Iran's compliance with its safeguards obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) have grown as inspectors remain unable to verify previously declared low- and highly-enriched uranium, which, if further enriched, would be sufficient for about 10 nuclear weapons, the agency warned.

No major changes were recorded in the IAEA's overall assessment of Iran's nuclear program despite three months of war aimed in part at preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. “The Agency's lack of access to verify the previously declared HEU and LEU ... is a matter of proliferation concern and of compliance with the NPT Safeguards Agreement.”

Continuity of knowledge over previously declared nuclear material at facilities affected by military strikes has also been lost, the IAEA noted, urging that the issue be addressed with “the utmost urgency,” particularly as access to nuclear facilities damaged during previous US and Israeli attacks remains unavailable to inspectors, and Iran has yet to fully implement safeguards measures that the agency described as “indispensable and urgent.”

The IAEA claimed that it does not know the precise location and operational status of a fourth declared enrichment facility near Isfahan that inspectors have never been permitted to access, or whether it contains nuclear material.

Iran's enriched uranium stockpile remains one of the main unresolved issues in negotiations with the United States aimed at ending the war that began on February 28. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded that Tehran relinquish its enriched uranium, while recent draft memoranda of understanding (MoU) have focused on a preliminary agreement that would leave nuclear issues for later talks.