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IAEA Says Most of Iran’s Highly Enriched Uranium Likely Remains at Isfahan

Inspectors have been barred since June 2025, creating a verification gap the agency now seeks to close through removal or down-blending.

Rafael Grossi, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General and a candidate for United Nations Secretary-General, speaks during an interview at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Rafael Grossi, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General and a candidate for United Nations Secretary-General, speaks during an interview at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Rafael Grossi, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General and a candidate for United Nations Secretary-General, speaks during an interview at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
FILE - Rafael Grossi speaks during an event at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Overview

  • Rafael Grossi said Wednesday that the agency’s best estimate is that the bulk of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is still at the Isfahan complex.
  • On-site checks stopped after the June 2025 12-day war, leaving IAEA seals unverified and forcing reliance on satellite images, including a June 9, 2025 sequence showing 18 containers driven into an Isfahan tunnel.
  • The IAEA reports 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity and believes about 200 kilograms sit in Isfahan tunnels, a short step from weapons-grade and enough for roughly 10 bombs if weaponized.
  • Grossi said the material remains accessible to Iran and that the IAEA has discussed sending it abroad or blending it down, steps that would require a political agreement.
  • The IAEA also seeks access to Natanz and Fordow, and Grossi said the 2015 nuclear deal is not a viable starting point given Iran’s exponential advances, which have made a new consensus harder to build.