Iran: the IAEA demands an access to stockpile of highly enriched uranium

Kinshasa, June 23^rd, 2025 (CPA).- The General Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has demanded on Monday an access to Iranian nuclear sites in order to establish what has happened to the enriched uranium stockpile, according to international media reports. ‘We must allow inspectors to return to the site and review the uranium stocks, especially the 400 kg enriched to 60%,’ has declared Rafael Grossi, General Director of the IAEA. ‘Tehran had sent me on June 13^th, the day the launching of the Israeli offensive, a letter announcing the implementation of special measures to protect nuclear equipment and material,’ he has added. According to the same source, Raphael Grossi has pointed out that the craters are now visible at the Fordo site.  Given the explosive charge used and the extreme sensitivity of centrifuges to vibrations, it is expected that very significant damage has been caused. However, no one is currently in a position to fully assess the extent of the damage.  As for Isfahan, ‘new buildings’ have been hit by the United States after the damage already inflicted on the complex by the Israeli bombings; the entrances to the tunnels used to store enriched uranium seem to have been hit as well. US President Donald Trump has sent his bombers to strike on Sunday in Iran the underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, south of Tehran, and the nuclear facilities at Isfahan and Natanz (centre).  For its part, the Pentagon claims to have devastated Iran’s nuclear programme, but the experts point out that it is difficult at this stage to assess the extent of the destruction, particularly in the underground facilities at Fordo, where are located thousands of machines used to enrich uranium.