Iran could produce enriched uranium in months, UN nuclear chief warns
Listen to article
Iran could be producing enriched uranium in a few months, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi was quoted as saying on Sunday, raising doubts about how effective US strikes to destroy Tehran's nuclear programme have been.
US officials have stated that their strikes obliterated key nuclear sites in Iran, although US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran is enriching uranium to worrisome levels.
"The capacities they have are there. 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 told CBS News in an interview.
"Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there," he added, according to the transcript of an interview on "Face the Nation" with Margaret Brennan due to air on Sunday.
Saying it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons, Israel launched attacks on Iran earlier this month, igniting a 12-day air war that the US eventually joined.
Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.
Grossi, who heads the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said the strikes on sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan had significantly set back Iran's ability to convert and enrich uranium.
However, Western powers stress that Iran's nuclear advances provide it with an irreversible knowledge gain, suggesting that while losing experts or facilities may slow progress, the advances are permanent.
"Iran is a very sophisticated country in terms of nuclear technology," Grossi said. "So you cannot disinvent this. You cannot undo the knowledge that you have or the capacities that you have."
Grossi was also asked about reports of Iran moving its stock of highly enriched uranium in the run-up to the US strikes and said it was not clear where that material was.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Pakistan's PR to UN in Vienna elected UNIDO president
Listen to article Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna, Ambassador Kamran Akhtar, has been elected president of the 53rd session of the United Nations Industrial Development Board (UNIDO). This marks the first time Pakistan has been awarded this prestigious position. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed pride in Pakistan's achievement on X. "Pakistan continues to make significant contributions to the UN system and remains deeply committed to an international order based on the UN Charter & international law," he said. Pleased to share that Ambassador Kamran Akhtar, Pakistan's PR to the UN in Vienna, has been elected President of the 53rd session of the UNIDO Industrial Development Board. This is a proud moment for Pakistan and a recognition of our leadership in multilateral diplomacy.… — Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) June 30, 2025 The election reflects the trust placed in Pakistan by UNIDO Member States, reaffirming the country's active diplomatic role within Vienna-based international organisations. Pakistan's commitment to industrial development, particularly in developing countries, Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), has been central to its profile at UNIDO. Ambassador Akhtar expressed gratitude to UNIDO Member States for their trust and outlined his commitment to further enhancing the organisation's role in promoting industrial development globally. He highlighted Pakistan's focus on sustainable, inclusive growth, particularly in vulnerable nations. The Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, Ambassador Kamran Akhtar, has been elected as President of the 53rd session of the Industrial Development Board. This is the first time Pakistan has been honoured with this prestigious position (1/2) — Pakistan Embassy Austria (@PakinAustria) June 30, 2025 The director general of UNIDO congratulated Ambassador Akhtar, praising Pakistan's ongoing contribution to the organisation's core mission. Pakistan has one of the largest portfolios with UNIDO, with over 350 million Euros invested in ongoing and planned projects across various sectors, including textiles, leather, fisheries, food safety, climate action, and renewable energy. Key initiatives such as PAIDAR and PAFAID have been instrumental in poverty alleviation, job creation, and the sustainable development of rural communities in Pakistan. This year, Pakistan is set to launch a new cycle of its Country Partnership Programme with UNIDO, alongside several new projects across diverse sectors aimed at fostering industrial development and economic growth.
Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Indian tech hub state pushes jail terms for ‘fake news', sparks worries
BENGALURU: Draft legislation by India's tech hub state of Karnataka that would impose jail terms of up to seven years for spreading 'fake news' and other misinformation has stirred concerns among free speech activists that it could lead to censorship. With nearly 1 billion internet users, the stakes are high in a sprawling country of many ethnic and religious communities where fake news risks stirring deadly strife and AI deepfake videos have alarmed officials during elections. India's federal government already regulates social media content with legislation empowering it to order takedowns of disputed content. But some states such as Karnataka have begun taking their own measures. Karnataka's bill, the strictest of its kind yet, stipulates that those posting 'fake news' and 'anti-feminist' content, or 'promoting superstition', would face imprisonment along with potential fines. The 11-page Karnataka Mis-Information And Fake News (Prohibition) Bill does not define such offences in practice, but said special courts and a regulatory committee would be set up to implement it. Free speech advocates have cited what they say would be the risk of selective enforcement arising from Karnataka's measure and flagged concerns that people posting memes or making honest mistakes online could be prosecuted. At least 11 die in crowd chaos outside Indian cricket stadium 'Misinformation is fairly subjective and every person who uses the internet is susceptible to falling within the dragnet of this law,' said Apar Gupta, founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation, a New Delhi-based digital advocacy group which first made the Karnataka draft legislation public. The state government of Karnataka, home to the city of Bengaluru that hosts the offices or branches of many Indian and foreign tech giants, has said the bill will be released for public consultation before implementation. Priyank Kharge, Karnataka's IT minister, said on Friday 'there is a lot of misinformation on the proposed Misinformation Bill in public'. He later added that the 'sole objective is to address the growing digital information disorder' and the government's focus was to tackle misinformation and fake news, 'and nothing beyond that'. He did not immediately respond to Reuters calls seeking further comment on Monday. Karnataka's move could risk creating multiple regulations imposing conflicting obligations and regulatory challenges for companies, said Aman Taneja, partner at law and policy firm Ikigai. Some Indian media have sharply criticised the draft bill. The Deccan Herald newspaper on Monday titled an opinion piece 'A remedy that's worse than the menace', saying the Karnataka government should 'do away with the criminal provisions' in the legislation. India has over the years held talks with U.S. tech giants like Google it sees as having been slow to remove fake news posts, and New Delhi in 2019 set up a 'Fact Check Unit' to debunk what it sees as misinformation.
Business Recorder
6 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Trump says not offering Iran ‘anything', nor speaking to them
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Monday he was not offering Iran anything nor talking to it 'since we totally obliterated' the country's nuclear facilities. 'I am not offering Iran ANYTHING, unlike Obama,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. 'Nor am I even talking to them since we totally OBLITERATED their Nuclear Facilities.' The statement comes as Iran's deputy foreign minister told the BBC that talks between Washington and Tehran cannot resume unless the US rules out further strikes on Iran. Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the British broadcaster that the US had signalled it wants to return to the negotiating table, a week after it struck three Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump says would bomb Iran again if nuclear activities start 'We have not agreed to any date, we have not agreed to the modality,' said Takht-Ravanchi. 'Right now we are seeking an answer to this question. Are we going to see a repetition of an act of aggression while we are engaging in dialogue?' The US needs to be 'quite clear on this very important question', he said. The two countries were in talks over Tehran's nuclear programme when Israel hit Iranian nuclear sites and military infrastructure this month, with the US joining by bombing three nuclear sites – Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan – on June 21. The deputy minister revealed to the BBC that the US had signalled it did 'not want to engage in regime change' by targeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Takht-Ravanchi also said Iran should still be allowed to enrich uranium. 'The level of that can be discussed, the capacity can be discussed, but to say that you should not have enrichment, you should have zero enrichment, and if you do not agree, we will bomb you, that is the law of the jungle,' he said. Israel claims that Iran's nuclear programme is close to producing a bomb, whereas Tehran says it is for peaceful purposes. It is not clear yet how much damage the strikes inflicted on Iran's nuclear facilities, which Trump has said were 'totally obliterated'. UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Iran would probably be able to begin to produce enriched uranium 'in a matter of months'. Takht-Ravanchi said he did not know how long it would take. Under a 2015 deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium below 3.67 percent purity for fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. Trump abandoned the agreement in 2018 and Iran responded by producing uranium enriched to 60 percent – above levels for civilian usage but still below weapons grade. That material, if further refined, would theoretically be sufficient to produce more than nine nuclear bombs.
