Why UN Nuclear Watchdog Thinks Iran Could Again Enrich Uranium Within "Months"

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, has warned Iran would likely be able to resume producing enriched uranium within months, despite damage to several nuclear facilities from US and Israeli attacks. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi on Saturday noted that despite damage from attacks, the Islamic republic's nuclear infrastructure is "still standing" and it can revert to their previous capabilities in "a matter of months."

The Middle East was rattled over the last few weeks after Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, targeting Iran's nuclear and military facilities on June 13, saying it was aimed at keeping  Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon - an ambition the Islamic republic has consistently denied.

The United States subsequently joined Israel in bombing three key facilities used for Tehran's atomic program, with the US President Donald Trump claiming the sites were completely "obliterated", insisting Iran's nuclear program had been set back "decades".

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, also acknowledged that the extent of the damage to the nuclear sites is "serious", but the details are unknown.

What Rafael Grossi Said

Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said, "some" of Iran's nuclear programme is "still standing."

"They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that," Grossi said in an interview with CBS News Friday.

"Iran had a very vast ambitious program, and part of it may still be there, and if not, there is also the self-evident truth that the knowledge is there. The industrial capacity is there. Iran is a very sophisticated country in terms of nuclear technology, as is obvious," he added.

Another key question is whether Iran was able to relocate some or all of its estimated 408.6-kilo (900-pound) stockpile of highly enriched uranium before the attacks. The uranium in question is enriched to 60 per cent -- above levels for civilian usage but still below weapons grade. That material, if further refined, would theoretically be sufficient to produce more than nine nuclear bombs.

Grossi admitted to CBS: "We don't know where this material could be." 

"So some could have been destroyed as part of the attack, but some could have been moved. So there has to be at some point a clarification," he said in the interview.

For now, Iranian lawmakers voted to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, and Tehran rejected Grossi's request for a visit to the damaged sites, especially Fordo, the main uranium enrichment facility.

"We need to be in a position to ascertain, to confirm what is there, and where is it and what happened," Grossi said.

Trump's New Bombing Threat

US President Trump sharply criticised Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, on Friday, as he dropped plans to lift sanctions on Iran. Trump said he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran is enriching uranium to worrisome levels.

Trump's remarks came after Khamanei said Iran "slapped America in the face" by launching an attack against a major US base in Qatar following the U.S. bombing raids. Khamanei also said Iran would never surrender.

The US leader said he had spared Khamenei's life. Earlier reports claimed Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill the supreme leader.

"His Country was decimated, his three evil Nuclear Sites were OBLITERATED, and I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life," Trump said in a social media post.

"I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH," he said.

Iran said a potential nuclear deal was conditional on the US ending its "disrespectful tone" toward the Supreme Leader.

"If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran's Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, and stop hurting his millions of heartfelt followers," Iran's Foreign Minister said in a post on X in the early hours of Saturday.

Trump also said that in recent days he had been working on the possible removal of sanctions on Iran to give it a chance for a speedy recovery. He said he had now abandoned that effort.

Trump said at a White House news conference that he did not rule out attacking Iran again, when asked about the possibility of new bombing of Iranian nuclear sites if deemed necessary at some point.

"Sure, without question, absolutely," he said.