The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s chief, Rafael Grossi, reminded on Monday that “North Korea kicked out International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and developed nuclear weapons.”
“The world must not fail in Iran as it did in North Korea,” He added.
Mr. Grossi’s reference to Iran’s recent action of “revoking the activity permits” of some International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and preventing their presence in Iran.
“The IAEA is the eyes and ears and presence of the international community in Iran,” Grossi told an annual U.S. State Department arms control conference in a recorded message on October 16 adding he was extremely concerned about Iran’s nuclear program.
“We have to deploy every effort to prevent this problem, this current debate on what is happening and what can be done in Iran (from) becoming a failure on the part of the international community to prevent a country that has capabilities which could potentially lead to the development of nuclear weapons from doing it,” he added.
The Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, referring to the experience of North Korea, stated that, “We saw the failure of this type in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea.”
Since North Korea expelled IAEA inspectors in 2009, the agency has been denied access to the country. As a result, the IAEA now monitors North Korea’s nuclear advancements from a distance, primarily relying on satellite imagery.
However, the IAEA still maintains “regular access to declared nuclear facilities” in Iran. Over the past five years, however, Iran has taken steps to remove installed monitoring equipment within the framework of the 2015 nuclear agreement, leading to a deadlock in the revival of the agreement. As a result, the agency no longer has the capability to conduct “snap inspections of undeclared sites” in Iran.
In his latest quarterly reports on Iran, Mr. Grossi indicated that the Iranian regime has achieved a significant level of uranium enrichment at 60% purity. This is close to the threshold of approximately 90% required for weapons-grade enrichment and would hypothetically provide enough material for the production of nearly three nuclear bombs, according to the IAEA’s theoretical definition. The regime denies any intention of pursuing nuclear weapons.
The IAEA is currently engaged in several disputes with Tehran, including the identification of the source of uranium particles discovered at two undeclared sites, the reinstallation of monitoring equipment that has been removed, and the regime’s recent decision to “de-designate” certain IAEA inspectors.
Furthermore, on September 16, the regime announced the “revocation” of the activity permits for some inspectors of the IAEA in Iran. Grossi strongly condemned this action on the same day, stating that these inspectors are among the “most experienced” experts of the IAEA, possessing unique knowledge in the field of enrichment technology. They were previously engaged in “essential verification activities” at Iran’s enrichment facilities.
On September 17, the European Union issued a statement, urging an immediate reconsideration of the decision from Tehran.
On August 14, 2002, The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) unveiled the Natanz nuclear site and the heavy water project in Arak during a press conference in Washington. The revelation of these projects was confirmed by the IAEA and triggered worldwide condemnation and scrutiny that dramatically slowed down the clerical regime’s pace for nuclear weapons.
