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Today's Paper | March 20, 2026

Published 19 Mar, 2026 11:45pm

IAEA director stresses need to return to Iran nuclear negotiations

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi says once the US and Israel’s war on Iran ends, “we will still inherit a number of major issues”, including Iran’s inventory of enriched uranium that is believed to be under rubble, Al Jazeera reports.

In an interview with CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’, he said, “The focus on the campaign does not seem to be specifically the nuclear facilities.”

Asked how difficult it would be for the US to come in and remove enriched material from Iran, Grossi said, “We’re talking about cylinders containing gas of highly contaminated uranium hexafluoride at 60 per cent, so it’s very difficult to handle.”

Decoys may also be in place, he added. While Iran has a contractual obligation to allow UN inspectors in, “nothing can happen while bombs are falling.”

Grossi said a lot of Iran’s nuclear programme has survived. “They have the capabilities, they have the knowledge, they have the industrial ability. This is why we need to go back to a negotiating table.”

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