Iran Says Nuclear Material Buried Under Rubble as New IAEA Deal Sparks Dispute
TEHRAN — Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi revealed on Wednesday that much of the country’s nuclear material remains inaccessible beneath the rubble of facilities struck during June’s war with Israel.
“All of our material is under the rubble of the bombed facilities,” Araghchi said in a televised interview, noting that Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization is still assessing the condition of its stockpiles.
The comments came just a day after Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reached a new cooperation framework. Iran had severed ties with the watchdog during the 12-day conflict in June, when Israeli and U.S. strikes targeted its nuclear sites. Tehran has accused the IAEA of failing to strongly condemn those attacks.
Araghchi stressed that under the new agreement, UN nuclear inspectors will only be allowed access with the approval of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. He said the deal differentiates between facilities damaged in the strikes and those left intact, such as the Bushehr reactor in southern Iran.
Access to undamaged sites, he added, will be reviewed “case by case,” while inspections of bombed facilities remain frozen due to environmental and safety concerns. “No inspections are currently on the agenda,” Araghchi said.
However, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi offered a different interpretation. Speaking in Vienna, he said the deal covers “all facilities and installations in Iran” and clearly defines inspection procedures. Grossi had previously warned that the agency no longer knew the exact location of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles after the June attacks.
According to the IAEA’s latest report, Iran possessed about 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60 percent as of June 13 — dangerously close to the 90 percent level required for nuclear weapons.
Western governments accuse Tehran of pursuing an atomic bomb, a charge Iran has repeatedly denied, insisting its program is for peaceful purposes.
Tensions have escalated further after Britain, France, and Germany launched steps in late August to reimpose UN sanctions lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, citing Iran’s continued violations. The European trio gave Tehran one month to negotiate before the sanctions return.
Iran has blasted the move as “illegal.” Araghchi warned that if the sanctions are reinstated, the newly signed framework with the IAEA “will no longer be valid.”
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