The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi believes that Iran has retained some components of its nuclear program and could resume uranium enrichment within months.
“I would say that within a few months they could have a few cascades of centrifuges spinning, producing enriched uranium, or less“, he said in an interview with the American television company CBS. "Honestly, you can't say that everything is gone and nothing is left," Grossi stressed, referring to what components of Iran's nuclear program have been preserved after the US and Israel struck targets in the Islamic Republic.
"It is clear that serious damage has been done, but first, it is not complete damage. And second, Iran has potential. Industrial and technological potential. If they want, they can start doing this again," Grossi added, referring to uranium enrichment and the development of Iran's nuclear program.
According to the IAEA director general, Iran "had and still has some capacity for processing, converting and enriching uranium" at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Grossi added that these facilities have been "largely destroyed," but "something remains." According to the agency's director general, IAEA inspectors must continue to work in Iran to "recover information about ongoing activities."
As CNN reported on June 24, the US intelligence community believes that the strikes on Iran did not destroy the main components of Tehran's nuclear program. According to a preliminary assessment by US intelligence, the attack most likely only delayed Tehran's acquisition of a nuclear bomb by several months. These conclusions were drawn by the US Military Intelligence Agency. At the same time, she herself specified that she makes such conclusions with a low degree of confidence in their accuracy.
On June 25, US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegsett, citing new US intelligence data, expressed confidence that Iran's nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which were hit on the night of June 22, have been effectively wiped off the face of the earth.
In addition, the White House assured that, according to the information available to Washington, Iran was not able to remove nuclear materials from these complexes in advance.