IAEA chief says report on Iran’s nuclear program ‘not new’
Evidence gathered on Iran’s nuclear program by the International Atomic Energy Agency can “hardly be a basis for any military action,” the organization’s head said Thursday.
“Military action, from wherever it comes, is a political decision that has nothing to do with what we’re saying,” Rafael Grossi told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
After launching its first wave of strikes on Iran, Israel pointed to a recent IAEA report that acknowledged Iran is enriching uranium to a higher level than other countries without nuclear weapons programs, in violation of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations.
But Grossi told Cooper there was no indication of a “systematic program in Iran to produce a nuclear weapon.”
This week, US President Donald Trump said he thought Iran was “very close” to having a nuclear weapon.
Israel would need US help to take out Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, buried deep in the Iranian mountains, as only the US military has the massive “bunker buster” bombs thought to be capable of effectively striking an underground target at such depths.
Asked by Cooper whether he is concerned about the possible consequences of a US strike on Fordow, Grossi said “diplomacy is the way forward.”
“Physical structures can be destroyed, but you cannot destroy knowledge. You cannot destroy technological advancements, advancements being made in a country,” Grossi said.
Israel’s military said it had killed nine Iranian nuclear scientists. Iran has acknowledged nuclear scientists were killed by Israel in the attack, without saying how many.
Grossi this week rebuffed Iranian claims the IAEA has presented a “misleading narrative” over its nuclear program and said the organization stood ready to “closely monitor and assess the situation regarding the Israeli attacks on nuclear sites.”
