The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief, Rafael Grossi, suggested that Iran will be able to produce enriched uranium within months, after Israel and the US struck its nuclear capabilities and facilities.
Moreover, an analysis by the New York Times revealed that some of Iran’s nuclear capabilities remain intact, which means Tehran may have the ability to continue working toward a nuclear weapon. However, the US administration rejected these findings.
Producing Enriched Uranium
In an interview with CBS News on Saturday, Grossi said that Tehran will restore its ability to produce enriched uranium within months despite the “very serious level of damage” caused by the US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities.
“The capacities they have are there. 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,” he said.
The UN nuclear watchdog chief explained that Iran’s nuclear capabilities incurred severe damage, but not total damage. He added that Tehran still has “the industrial and technological capacities” to start the enrichment process again.
Furthermore, Grossi pointed out that Iran’s highly enriched uranium, estimated at 400 kilograms, could have been moved elsewhere before the Israeli and US attacks. “We don’t know where this material could be” during the 12-day war. “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 added.
US and Israeli Assessments
Grossi’s assessments contradicted those of the US and Israeli officials. The US President, Donald Trump, insisted that the US strikes against Iranian nuclear sites had set Tehran’s nuclear program back “decades,” adding that Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been “completely and totally obliterated” in the US strikes.
Trump also ruled out the possibility of moving nuclear stockpile before the US attack. During an interview with Fox News, the US President said: “It’s a very hard thing to do plus we didn’t give much notice. They didn’t move anything,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, said that “Iran is no longer a nuclear threshold state,” the Times of Israel reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. He also said that Iran’s nuclear program “has been set back for years” following the elimination of Tehran’s nuclear scientists and strikes on key nuclear facilities.
Iran-Israel Conflict
On June 13, 2025, Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran to eliminate its nuclear program and prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon. As a result, both countries exchanged intensified aerial and missile attacks for 12 days. Then on June 22, the US intervened in the conflict by striking three nuclear facilities in Iran, namely Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, using bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk missiles.
The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, said that the extent of damage to Iran’s nuclear sites is “serious,” without revealing details. After the US strikes, the Iranian parliament approved a bill to suspend Tehran’s cooperation with the IAEA, emphasizing that “Iran’s peaceful nuclear program will move forward at a faster pace.”
The bill, also approved by the Iranian Guardian Council and is pending the president’s ratification, will prevent UN inspectors from having any access to Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities.
A day before the Israeli strikes on Iran, the IAEA declared Iran in breach of its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years. Iran called the resolution “political” and vowed countermeasures, including establishing a new enrichment facility and replacing old centrifuges for advanced ones at Fordo.
Iran’s Nuclear Capabilities
Some of Iran’s nuclear capabilities remain intact after the Israeli and US strikes, New York Times revealed in an analysis on Friday. It said despite the assassination of 14 Iranian nuclear scientists, Tehran still has another tier of scientists with the necessary expertise to continue their predecessors’ work.
Moreover, Iran’s mining capabilities were left untouched as two uranium mines were not targeted in the attacks. The NYT report also pointed to secret enrichment facilities, which Iran has been building underground for advanced, next-generation centrifuges.
It also suggested that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium had been moved before the attacks, citing a preliminary classified US intelligence report.
On his part, Trump announced on Wednesday that American and Iranian officials will hold talks next week on Iran’s nuclear program, a day after announcing a ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel. “I’ll tell you what, we’re going to talk with them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement, I don’t know,” he said.
The US President insisted that Tehran was “not going to have a bomb and they’re not going to enrich” uranium. “We won’t let that happen. Number one, militarily we won’t,” he noted.
