Published On 6/5/2026
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Last update: 20:39 (Mecca time)
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said that the return of the agency’s inspectors to Iranian nuclear sites represents an indispensable prerequisite before reaching any agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, stressing that the agency has not been able to verify Tehran’s declared stock of uranium for more than 8 months.
Grossi added, in exclusive statements to Al Jazeera, that the agency assumes that Iranian nuclear materials are still present in the locations where they were when the recent military attacks began, noting that the Iranian authorities informed the agency of this.
He continued that the resumption of field inspections and verification remains a basic necessity to rebuild an accurate picture of the status of the Iranian nuclear program, especially in light of the long interruption of direct oversight operations.
Grossi’s statements come at a time when the International Atomic Energy Agency acknowledged that it does not currently have the ability to verify the cessation of uranium enrichment or reprocessing operations inside Iran, as a result of the restrictions imposed on the access of its inspectors to nuclear facilities.
The agency had confirmed in previous reports that Iran remains the only country that does not possess a nuclear weapon that has accumulated quantities of uranium enriched by up to 60%, a percentage close to the level necessary for military use.
The agency also noted that the recent attacks on Iran have created an unprecedented situation regarding the pursuit of its nuclear program, while some issues related to undeclared nuclear materials and sites remain unresolved.
The issue of Iran’s uranium stock is of particular importance in light of the ongoing controversy over the future of nuclear negotiations, as the agency’s estimates indicate that Iran possesses more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, in addition to larger quantities enriched to lower levels.
The fate of these materials and the mechanisms for verifying them is one of the most prominent issues raised in any possible negotiating track, which explains Grossi’s emphasis on the need for the inspectors to return before talking about any new agreement.
