Grossi: Iran's Enriched Uranium Reserves Continue to Increase

Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), presented a report on Monday, March 5, during a Board of Governors meeting, outlining the concerns of this UN oversight body regarding Iran's nuclear activities. Grossi stated that "although the level of enriched uranium has slightly decreased to 60 percent," the total reserves of enriched uranium in Iran continue to rise. He expressed "deep regret" that the Islamic Republic of Iran has not yet changed its decision regarding the ban on the activities of "several experienced agency inspectors" and emphasized that the Iranian government has halted the implementation of the Additional Protocol and restricted the agency's access for three years. The IAEA Director General also pointed out the lack of any progress in "resolving remaining safeguards issues" and stressed that the Islamic Republic has not provided "credible technical explanations" for the presence of "human-origin uranium particles in Varamin and Torqozabad." Grossi mentioned the "discrepancy in nuclear material balance" in Iran as another concern that requires further examination by the agency, stating that resolving the "remaining safeguards issues arising from Iran's commitments under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement" is a prerequisite for the agency to assure that "Iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful." He said, "Only through constructive and meaningful engagement can all these concerns be addressed, and I once again urge Iran to cooperate fully and unambiguously with the agency." Diplomats say that the quarterly meeting, a key policymaking session of the IAEA (Board of Governors), began on Monday while Western powers decided again not to confront the Islamic Republic seriously over its failure to cooperate with the agency. According to Reuters, for over a year, the IAEA Board of Governors, which has 35 member countries, has passed a resolution instructing the Iranian government to cooperate with the agency's investigations regarding uranium particles discovered at sites whose nature was not previously disclosed. The agency had stated that such cooperation was "essential and urgent" to explain the presence of the discovered uranium particles. Since then, the number of undisclosed sites questioned by the agency has decreased from three to two, but the list of issues between the IAEA and Iran has increased. The Islamic Republic has not fully complied with the agreement to reinstall IAEA cameras at some nuclear sites and, in September, banned some of the agency's most important and experienced inspectors from operating in Iran. Diplomats say that with the ongoing military attack by Israel on Gaza in response to the sudden attacks by Hamas on southern Israel on September 15 (October 7) and the escalation of tensions throughout the Middle East, the U.S. does not want to increase the risk of further diplomatic tensions with Iran by pushing for a resolution against the Islamic Republic at the IAEA. A Western diplomat cited various factors, stating, "If you issue a resolution (at the IAEA Board of Governors) right now... doing anything that could be perceived as sending the wrong signal and pulling the trigger on a miscalculation is very dangerous." According to Reuters, diplomats said, "The region is in a peak state of tension, there is no ceasefire or resolution regarding Gaza, we have no prospect of any kind of nuclear solution, and... the U.S. is heading towards presidential elections." Diplomats had said before the Board of Governors meeting that the three European powers (Britain, France, and Germany), which had jointly presented the last resolution with the U.S. and usually act in coordination with Washington, were trying to issue a resolution and had prepared a text. However, diplomats said that Washington has opposed seeking a solution against the Islamic Republic for several months, at least partly due to the upcoming U.S. presidential elections in November, and was again the least willing power among the four in this regard. The U.S. and those three European countries have strongly criticized Iran over various nuclear issues, such as the increasing reserves of enriched uranium, which, if further enriched, would be sufficient for the fuel of several nuclear bombs. The Iranian government claims it does not intend to build a nuclear bomb.