(Bloomberg) — Iran could gain access to its stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium if it chooses to retrieve material believed to be buried at sites the U.S. has bombed, according to the United Nations nuclear watchdog.
“It is accessible if you wish to go there,” Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.
While IAEA inspectors have not visited the sites where the material is located in 10 months, Grossi said satellite images indicate that most of the material remains buried where it was last seen near the Iranian city of Isfahan.
The IAEA chief spoke as Washington and Tehran seek to resume talks to end the conflict, which continues to restrict energy flows through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed before war broke out in February. Grossi said he is in contact with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“It’s on and off, but the conversation is happening,” Grossi said, adding that his inspectors will remain critical of any outcome. “An agreement without verification is an illusion.”
Iran has reportedly proposed an interim deal to reopen Hormuz in exchange for Washington ending its blockade of Iranian ports while delaying more complex negotiations over the country’s nuclear program.
The White House said Monday that US officials are discussing Iran’s latest proposal but are maintaining “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war, including preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The Islamic Republic has denied pursuing such a goal.
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