Russia remains open to removing highly enriched uranium, a key component in the development of nuclear weapons, from Iran, the head of the United Nations nuclear agency said on Tuesday.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Rafael Grossi stressed the importance of ensuring that Iran loses this supply or that enriched uranium is diluted.
Grossi leads the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which works to prevent the military use of nuclear weapons. The nuclear chief told The Associated Press last year that Iran has enough stockpiles to build up to 10 nuclear bombs.
President Trump has cited Iran’s nuclear capabilities as one of the main reasons for his war against Iran, which has now lasted more than 60 days.
On Wednesday, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to help with “enrichment” during a phone call between the two leaders, presumably referring to the proposed process of removing enriched uranium.
“He told me he would be willing to participate in enrichment if he could help us enrich uranium. I said, ‘I would rather you be involved in ending the war with Ukraine.’ “To me, that’s more important,” Trump said of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
The United States and Israel launched a joint military strike against Iran in late February as nuclear deal negotiations reached an impasse. The two countries previously attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities last June, including the country’s largest atomic research center, the Isfahan complex.
Grossi told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the International Atomic Energy Agency had obtained satellite images of Isfahan showing the results of those attacks.
While the nuclear chief said this information-gathering process was still ongoing, he said the agency believed the country’s large supply of enriched uranium was still stored at nuclear facilities.
“We cannot inspect or deny that the material is there, and the seal – the IAEA seal – is still there,” he said. “I hope we can do that, so what I’m telling you is our best estimate.”
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