IAEA Chief: Iran 'Weeks' From Enough Uranium for Bomb

Iran is only "weeks rather than months" away from possessing enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb, according to Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

However, he stressed in an interview with DW (Deutsche Welle) Tuesday that simply having enough materials doesn't necessarily mean that Iran "has or would have a nuclear weapon in that space of time.

"A functional nuclear warhead requires many other things independently from the production of the fissile material," Grossi said, while stressing that just having enough is still is a major cause for concern.

Iran has maintained that its stockpile is necessary for civilian and medical purposes.

Grossi said the IAEA is not getting the access it needs in Iran to monitor the situation, and that is causing extra speculation about Iran's motives.

"I have been telling my Iranian counterparts time and again … this activity raises eyebrows and compounded with the fact that we are not getting the necessary degree of access and visibility that I believe should be necessary," he said. "When you put all of that together, then, of course, you end up with lots of question marks."

The IAEA has also discovered traces of enriched uranium in places where it is not expected, and Grossi said that Iran's lack of transparency "has been at the center of this dialogue that I have been and I am still trying to conduct with Iran."

Grossi said the thought of anyone attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, given the tensions and military activity between Iran and Israel, is an "absolute no-go."

However, he said he is concerned about the growing "normalization of talk about nuclear weapons, dropping nuclear weapons" and finds it "absolutely deplorable."

The IAEA, Grossi added, is always trying to promote dialogue between countries, including  the United States.

"What I am interested in is the dialogue between us, the IAEA and Iran, because there are many things that need to be clarified, and it is for this that we are going to be traveling to Tehran soon," he said, adding that he will stress to the Iranians that there should be more cooperation.

"I will be there to try to put these things back on track if they want to be believed," said Grossi.

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