Shafaq News- Vienna
Iran has not granted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to nuclear facilities damaged during a 12-day war in June, the agency stated on Friday.
According to a confidential agency report circulated to member states and obtained by the Associated Press, the agency claimed that it can't verify whether Iran has suspended all enrichment-related activities or determine the size of its uranium stockpile at the affected facilities.
Iran has four declared uranium enrichment sites. However, due to the lack of access, the IAEA said it “cannot provide any information on the current size, composition, or whereabouts of the stockpile of enriched uranium in Iran,” stressing, “loss of continuity of knowledge needs to be addressed with the utmost urgency.”
Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, while the IAEA and Western countries say Iran operated an organized nuclear weapons program until 2003. In a letter dated Feb. 2, Iran informed the agency that the application of standard safeguards was “legally untenable and materially impracticable” due to threats and what it described as acts of aggression. The report noted that since June 2025, Iran has allowed inspectors to visit each unaffected nuclear facility at least once, except for the Karun power plant, which remains under construction.
Iran is a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and is required to cooperate with the IAEA. However, it suspended full cooperation following the June conflict with Israel.
According to the agency’s report, Iran possesses 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity, close to the 90% level considered weapons-grade. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said such a stockpile could theoretically allow Iran to produce up to 10 nuclear bombs if it chose to weaponize the material, adding that “this does not mean Iran has developed a nuclear weapon.”
The IAEA reported that Grossi attended US-Iran negotiations on Febraury 17 and February 26 in Geneva, where he provided technical advice on verification measures. Washington entered the talks demanding that any future agreement remain indefinite and that Iran relinquish its stockpile of roughly 10,000 kilograms of enriched uranium.
A third round of negotiations this year, mediated by Oman, concluded on Thursday without an agreement. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said nuclear talks in Geneva were “among the most serious” ever held with the United States, announcing further technical negotiations on Monday in Vienna.