Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has said it has found no evidence that Iran is running a coordinated programme to build a nuclear weapon, despite repeated accusations from the United States and Israel that Tehran is edging closer to producing a bomb. The agency reported that while Iran has enriched uranium to high levels, inspectors have not uncovered proof of an active weapons plan.
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Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said inspectors have not uncovered any evidence of “a systematic and structured program to manufacture nuclear weapons” in Iran. Speaking to NBC News, he stressed that the agency’s findings do not support the claim that Tehran is actively building a bomb.
However, Rafael Grossi confirmed that Iran has enriched uranium to 60 per cent purity. This level is far beyond what is needed for civilian nuclear energy and is much closer to weapons-grade material.
He said such enrichment is something “only countries with nuclear weapons have”. However, he clarified that enrichment alone does not mean a country has built nuclear warheads.
“The centrifuges were spinning constantly and producing more and more of that material,” Grossi said. He added that, in theory, the amount produced would have been “enough to produce more than 10 nuclear warheads. But do they have them? No.”
US ENVOY SAYS IRANIANS BRAGGED OF URANIUM BOMBS
US special envoy Steve Witkoff offered a sharper assessment. Speaking to Fox News, he said Iranian negotiators told American officials earlier this year that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60 per cent enriched uranium.
“In that first meeting, both the Iranian negotiators said to us directly — with no shame — that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60 per cent (enriched uranium) and that they’re aware that could make 11 nuclear bombs,” Witkoff said.
He added that the negotiators appeared “proud that they had evaded all sorts of oversight protocols to get to a place where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs.”
Steve Witkoff said Iran had been bragging about “an inalienable right” to enrich nuclear fuel. “We responded that the president feels we have the inalienable right to stop you dead in your tracks,” he said. Recalling the tense exchange, he added, “Jared and I just sort of looked at ourselves flummoxed, and said, ‘We’re really in for it now.'”
According to him, Iran’s stockpile could be converted into weapons-grade uranium within a week to 10 days, though this would require facilities that were destroyed during the 12-day conflict last year.
The US Envoy revealed that US President Trump wanted a broad agreement that would force Iran to end uranium enrichment, dismantle its missile programme, stop support for regional proxy groups and scale back naval capabilities.
Despite strong rhetoric from Washington, the IAEA’s position remains that there is no verified evidence of an organised nuclear weapons programme.
Iran has consistently maintained that it does not intend to build a nuclear weapon. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has repeatedly said Tehran has “never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb”, asserting that its programme is focused on energy use, not weaponisation.
– Ends
With inputs from agencies
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
