Iran could rebuild nuclear program within months
Iran could resume uranium enrichment within months, despite recent US and Israeli airstrikes on its nuclear facilities, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi has stated.
In an interview with CBS News released on Sunday, Grossi said the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, inflicted 'a very serious level of damage,' but some of the assets are 'still standing.'
'The capacities they [Iran] have are there. They can have, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that,' he added, while acknowledging that even the Iranians likely do not yet know the extent of the damage.
According to the IAEA chief, Iran maintains a significant industrial capacity. 'Iran is a very sophisticated country in terms of nuclear technology, as is obvious. So you cannot disinvent this. You cannot undo the knowledge that you have or the capacities that you have.'
Grossi went on to say that concerns about Iran's nuclear program cannot be put to rest through a military solution. 'I think this should be the incentive that we all must have to understand that… you are not going to solve this in a definitive way militarily. You are going to have an agreement,' he said, expressing hope that IAEA inspectors would soon have access to the country's nuclear sites again.
Iran has barred the inspectors from its nuclear facilities, accusing the agency of distorting facts in a recent report, which Tehran claims served as justification for the Israeli and US strikes. Grossi responded by saying: 'Really, who can believe that this conflict happened because of a report of the IAEA? And, by the way, what was in that report was not new.'
The comments come after a 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, during which the US and Israel conducted airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
US President Donald Trump claimed the strikes 'completely obliterated' Iran's nuclear facilities and warned of further attacks if Iran pursues nuclear weapons. Several US media outlets have suggested, however, that the damage to Iran's nuclear infrastructure was limited.
Tehran has denied that it has plans to produce a nuclear weapon and maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, stressing that it wants to reserve the right to enrich uranium for civilian use.
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