IAEA chief says plans to visit Iran to prevent escalation with US
Chief of the UN nuclear agency said his visit to Tehran in the coming weeks is to reduce the possibility of a confrontation between Iran and the United States over Iran’s nuclear program.
In an interview with Argentinian TV channel La Nacion, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi warned that the military confrontation between Iran and the US could have catastrophic and dangerous consequences that must be prevented.
“To avoid any misunderstanding, I emphasize: Iran does not have nuclear weapons,” he said.
Grossi, who had previously announced his possible plan to visit Iran in April, stressed that Iran does not have nuclear weapons, claiming, however, that Tehran has obtained many of the items and pieces of the puzzle to build a nuclear weapon.
“Iran has produced the necessary amount of nuclear material to make a nuclear bomb. To build a bomb or a nuclear warhead, you need many components. But the most important element, the one that gives the bomb its destructive power, is enriched uranium,” he said.
Referring to Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, the IAEA chief said, “I don’t want to get too technical, but Iran has enough enriched uranium to make six or seven nuclear weapons. But once again, I emphasize: Iran does not currently have nuclear weapons.”
“In my view, we are at a moment where we need to move forward. Yesterday, upon arriving in Buenos Aires, I spoke with Iran’s foreign minister and we agreed that I will travel to Iran in the coming weeks,” Grossi said.
“In my conversation with the Iranian foreign minister, we also agreed that Iran should clarify as soon as possible the matters that have remained ambiguous, so that we can reduce the possibility of any confrontation. Any confrontation would be devastating.”