Director General of the IAEA Rafael Mariano Grossi
Grossi noted that in his reports on Iran's nuclear program, he has always emphasized: the absence of evidence of Iran's development of a nuclear bomb does not rule out the existence of large stocks of enriched uranium that are close to weapon-grade levels, which raises serious concerns. In addition, he pointed out Iran's refusal to provide complete data for IAEA inspections.
The Director General added that as long as Tehran does not provide full cooperation and grant access to inspectors, the IAEA will not be able to verify the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.
The escalation of the conflict in the Middle East began on February 28 after a military operation by the United States and Israel against Iran. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, stated that the aim of these actions is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. In response, Iran carried out missile and drone attacks on Israel and on the countries of the Persian Gulf, where American military bases are located.
Negotiations on the nuclear program between Iran and the United States began on February 6 in Oman. Trump called on Iran to reach a "fair and equitable" agreement that would involve a complete abandonment of nuclear weapons. He also warned about the deployment of American ships to the region. According to media reports, on February 26, Iran offered the United States to temporarily suspend the uranium enrichment process.
