Iran “is not far” from developing an atomic bomb, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said in an interview with Le Monde published on Wednesday, just hours before his visit to Tehran.
Rafael Grossi, who leads the International Atomic Energy Agency, acknowledged that whilst Iran hasn’t yet achieved nuclear weapons capability, “they’re not far from it, you have to acknowledge.”
According to AFP, the IAEA chief explained the nuclear weapon development process, stating that Iran, “has the pieces and they could eventually put them together one day”.
Grossi was scheduled to conduct discussions with Iranian officials later that Wednesday.
The UN organisation was responsible for monitoring Iran’s adherence to the 2015 nuclear agreement, which subsequently collapsed following Donald Trump’s withdrawal during his presidency.
Earlier, the Iranian state media announced that second round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States will take place in Rome, resolving previous uncertainty about the venue.
The discussions will continue with Oman serving as intermediary, maintaining the same arrangement as the previous meeting held in Muscat, the Omani capital, according to the state television report.
Earlier this week, several officials indicated Rome as the location. However, this was contradicted on Tuesday morning when Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson suggested Oman would host the talks.