Iran speeding towards weapons grade uranium, says IAEA head

By Global Watch and AFP | 2025-01-22

DAVOS, Switzerland -- The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi on January 22 said Iran was racing toward weapons grade uranium.

Iran's nuclear program has grown "dramatically" in terms of capabilities, facilities and inventory of nuclear material since 2021, Grossi told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The IAEA said last month that a revamp of Iran's Fordo enrichment plant would lead to an increase in the rate of production of uranium enriched up to 60%, closer to the 90% needed to make a nuclear weapon.

The rate of production will jump around sevenfold to more than 34kgs (75 pounds) of highly enriched uranium per month, it said.

"I think this is a clear indication of an acceleration. They're pressing the gas pedal," Grossi said.

Dialogue was "absolutely indispensable" to move forward in nuclear negotiations with Tehran, he added. "Without that dialogue, there's not going to be any progress."

Iran insists on its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and denies it is seeking an atomic weapons capability.

However, Britain, France and Germany accused Iran on last month of growing its stockpile of high enriched uranium to "unprecedented levels" without "any credible civilian justification.

The three countries, known as the E3, said in a statement ahead of a United Nations Security Council meeting December 17 on Tehran's nuclear program that Iran must "reverse its nuclear escalation."

"Iran's stockpile of High Enriched Uranium has also reached unprecedented levels, again without any credible civilian justification. It gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons," the E3 said in its statement.

"Iran has ramped up its installation of advanced centrifuges, which is yet another damaging step in Iran's efforts to undermine the nuclear deal that they claim to support," it added.