Iran could be enriching uranium in 'a matter of months,' UN nuclear chief says

USA Today

11 hours ago

Iran's nuclear program was severely hit by U.S. bomb strikes but did not face "total damage" and the program could be up and running again within months, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog chief said Sunday.
President Donald Trump had a different take on the results of the strikes at the nuclear progam's primary site, telling Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" that "it' i's just thousands of tons of rock in that room right now. The whole place was destroyed."
Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said his agency was not making military evaluations but was using "logic" in determining that Iran's nuclear program could be up and running fairly soon.
"They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that," Grossi said on CBS News' "Face the Nation." "But as I said, frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there."
Status of Iran nukes: Few thought airstrikes could 'obliterate' Iran's nuclear program. Then Trump said they did.
Trump, Grossi disagree on future of Iran program
Grossi said he expects Iran will continue with a nuclear program, "the contours of which are still to be seen" and will hopefully be part of negotiations. Again, Trump disagreed.
"It was obliterated like nobody's ever seen before, and that meant the end to their nuclear ambitions at least for a period of time," Trump said. "The last thing they want do right now is think about nuclear. They have to put themselves back into condition and shape."
Did Iran rescue some of its enriched uranium?
Grossi acknowledged that some of the uranium already enriched by Iranian scientists could have been destroyed as part of the attack. But some could have been moved, he said.
Trump had a different opinion again, telling Fox News that moving the uranium is "very hard to do, very dangerous to do, it's very heavy." Iran didn't believe the U.S. would actually try to bomb nuclear sites and "didn't know we were coming," Trump said.
Grossi described Iran as a "very sophisticated country" in terms of nuclear technology.
"You cannot disinvent this," Grossi said. "You cannot undo the knowledge that you have or the capacities that you have."
That should work as an incentive to reach an agreement, Grossi said. And the agreement should include an inspection system "that will give everybody ... the assurances that we can, we can definitely turn the page."
Trump was adamant that Iran would not develp nuclear weapons under his watch.
"Iran cannot have nuclear weapons," he said in explaining his reasons for bombing the sites. "They wanted this for years and they were weeks away from getting it."
Why did the US strike Iran nuke facilities?
Trump ordered the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities − Operation Midnight Hammer − effectively joining a war that Israel started on June 13 when it began bombing Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure. Israel said it helped the U.S. coordinate and plan the strikes.
Trump said all three sites were "totally obliterated." A Pentagon assessment was less definitive, and Iran says its nuclear program will hardly skip a beat. The actual damage and the impact on Iran's program could become more clear in coming days.