Atomic agency head says no proof of Iran weapons programme

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog says inspectors have not found evidence of a coordinated Iranian programme to build nuclear weapons despite Israeli and US claims.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi told NBC News that the agency had not identified “elements of a systematic and structured programme to manufacture nuclear weapons” in Iran.

At the same time, he confirmed that Tehran has enriched uranium to 60 percent purity – a level far beyond civilian energy needs.

Grossi said such enrichment is something “only countries with nuclear weapons have”.

He stressed that inspectors could not conclude Iran intends to build a bomb, but said the stockpiling raised serious questions.

This enrichment, he said, was “the source of the concerns we had”, and there was “no clear objective” for accumulating material at that level.

“The centrifuges were spinning constantly and producing more and more of that material,” he said, adding that theoretically this would have been “enough to produce more than 10 nuclear warheads. But do they have them? No.”

-Al Jazeera

In another report Grossi acknowledged that communication with Iranian authorities has been patchy since the strikes began. The IAEA has attempted to reach Iran’s nuclear regulatory bodies but has so far received no response.

“We hope this indispensable channel of communication can be reestablished as soon as possible,” he said.

Despite the lack of direct contact, the agency has been analysing satellite imagery and other available data.

Speaking to reporters, Grossi said there were no signs of significant military activity targeting nuclear facilities.

“There might be something there, but not significant or comparable in any way to what we saw last time,” he noted, referring to strikes during a 12-day conflict in June 2025 that did hit key sites including Natanz.

However, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, told reporters that the Natanz facility – a central part of Iran’s nuclear programme – had been attacked. He did not provide further details on the extent of any damage.

Najafi also criticised Washington’s long-standing accusations that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, calling them “just the pretext to attack and invade”.

IAEA inspectors are not currently in Iran, and access to sites such as Natanz has been restricted since last year’s conflict, further complicating efforts to independently verify conditions on the ground.