Iran has the capability to begin enriching uranium once more – for a potential bomb – in “a matter of months”, the pinnacle of the UN’s nuclear watchdog has mentioned.

Rafael Grossi, head of the Worldwide Atomic Power Company (IAEA), mentioned the US strikes on three Iranian websites final weekend had triggered extreme however “not complete” injury, contradicting Donald Trump’s declare that Iran’s nuclear amenities had been “completely obliterated”.

“Frankly talking, one can not declare that all the pieces has disappeared and there may be nothing there,” Grossi mentioned on Saturday.

Israel attacked nuclear and army websites in Iran on 13 June, claiming Iran was near constructing a nuclear weapon. The US later joined the strikes, dropping bombs on Iran’s three nuclear amenities: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.

Since then, the true extent of the injury has been unclear.

On Saturday, Grossi informed CBS Information, the BBC’s US media accomplice, that Tehran might have “in a matter of months… a couple of cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium”.

He added that Iran nonetheless possessed the “industrial and technological capacities… so in the event that they so want, they’ll be capable to begin doing this once more.”

The IAEA will not be the primary physique to recommend that Iran’s nuclear skills might nonetheless proceed – earlier this week, a Pentagon intelligence evaluation discovered the US strikes solely set the programme again by months.

Trump retorted furiously by declaring that Iran’s nuclear websites had been “utterly destroyed” and accused the media of “an try and demean some of the profitable army strikes in historical past”.

For now, Iran and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire.

However Trump has mentioned he would “completely” contemplate bombing Iran once more if intelligence discovered that it might enrich uranium to regarding ranges.

Iran, then again, has despatched conflicting messages on how a lot injury was triggered.

In a speech on Thursday, Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mentioned the strikes had achieved nothing vital. Its overseas minister Abbas Araghchi, nevertheless, mentioned “extreme and severe” injury was executed.

Iran’s already-strained relationship with the IAEA was additional challenged on Wednesday, when its parliament moved to droop cooperation with the atomic watchdog, accusing the IAEA of siding with Israel and the US.

The 2 nations attacked Iran after the UN physique final month discovered Tehran to be in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the primary time in 20 years.

Iran insists that its nuclear programme is peaceable, and for civilian use solely.

Regardless of the Iranian refusal to work together with his organisation, Grossi mentioned that he hoped he might nonetheless negotiate with Tehran.

“I’ve to sit down down with Iran and look into this, as a result of on the finish of the day, this complete factor, after the army strikes, must have a long-lasting resolution, which can’t be however a diplomatic one,” he mentioned.

Beneath a 2015 nuclear cope with world powers, Iran was not permitted to counterpoint uranium above 3.67% purity – the extent required for gasoline for industrial nuclear energy vegetation – and was not allowed to hold out any enrichment at its Fordo plant for 15 years.

Nevertheless, Trump deserted the settlement throughout his first time period in 2018, saying it did too little to cease a pathway to a bomb, and reinstated US sanctions.

Iran retaliated by more and more breaching the restrictions – notably these regarding enrichment. It resumed enrichment at Fordo in 2021 and had amassed sufficient 60%-enriched uranium to doubtlessly make 9 nuclear bombs, in accordance with the IAEA.