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UN nuclear chief says it's possible Iran's highly enriched uranium 'is there'

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi

25 June 2025 20:50 (UTC +04:00)

There is a chance that much of Iran's highly enriched uranium survived Israeli and U.S. attacks because it may have been moved by Tehran soon after the first strikes, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday, APA reports citing Reuters.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Grossi said earlier this week that Iran had informed the IAEA on June 13 - the first day of Israeli strikes - that it would take "special measures" to protect its nuclear materials and equipment.

"They did not get into details as to what that meant but clearly that was the implicit meaning of that, so we can imagine that this material is there," Grossi told a press conference on Wednesday with members of the Austrian government.

"So for that, to confirm, for the whole situation, evaluation, we need to return (IAEA inspectors to Iran's nuclear facilities)."

He said ensuring the resumption of IAEA inspections was his top priority as none had taken place since the bombing began although Iran's parliament approved moves on Wednesday to suspend such inspections.