UN nuclear watchdog says it’s been unable to inspect Iranian facilities

According to the IAEA, Iran maintains a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity—a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

By The Associated Press

The U.N. nuclear watchdog has been unable to inspect nuclear facilities in Iran affected by the war last June, according to a confidential report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog circulated to member states and seen Thursday by The Associated Press.

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that it “cannot provide any information on the current size, composition, or whereabouts of the stockpile of enriched uranium in Iran or whether Iran has suspended all enrichment-related activities.”

The IAEA warned that it was “unable to discharge its safeguards responsibilities” that it has under the Safeguards Agreement of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, adding that it is “indispensable and urgent” for Tehran to implement its obligations under that Treaty.

The only nuclear facility inspected in Iran by IAEA inspectors since the last report in February has been the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which was visited on June 1-3.

The reactor currently running at Bushehr uses uranium from Russia enriched to 4.5%, a low level needed for power generation in such plants.

The confidential report comes as tensions have flared in the Middle East.

Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait’s main airport on Wednesday, killing one person, wounding dozens of others and briefly closing the airfield—the latest in back-and-forth attacks by Iran and the U.S. that test a fragile ceasefire.

According to the IAEA, Iran maintains a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity—a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

That stockpile could allow Iran to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponize its program, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi warned in a recent AP interview. He added that it doesn’t mean that Iran has such a weapon.

Such highly enriched nuclear material should normally be verified every month, according to the IAEA’s guidelines.

The report said Grossi reiterates his “full support to the negotiations underway aimed at finding a mutually acceptable solution to issues related to Iran’s nuclear programme, and his readiness … to support an eventual agreement.”

Talks have dragged on for weeks as mediators seek a more enduring truce in the war, now in its fourth month. They are increasingly strained by Israel’s broadening war with Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.

Iran maintains its hold on the Strait of Hormuz—a crucial waterway for the world’s oil and natural gas and related products like fertilizer—and the U.S. continues its blockade of Iranian ports.

Global fuel prices remain high, and the effects of the conflict are felt well beyond the region.