Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), announced that transferring Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium out of the country, despite technical complexities, “is not impossible,” an issue that has become a primary focus of negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Grossi stated that moving these materials is a complex and difficult operation because they are stored in gaseous form, compounded by technical and safety sensitivities. He explained that these materials are “highly polluting” and their transfer requires specialized technical arrangements.
According to the IAEA Director General, alongside the option of transferring the stockpiles out of Iran, alternative solutions are also being evaluated, including the dilution of highly enriched uranium and the lowering of enrichment levels.
Estimates indicate that Iran possesses approximately 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to near 60% purity. Grossi had previously noted that these stockpiles remain intact at their storage locations, despite US and Israeli airstrikes on certain Iranian nuclear facilities.
In recent months, the transfer or management of these stockpiles has become a point of contention in Iran-US negotiations. Officials of the Islamic Republic have rejected Washington’s demand to remove the enriched uranium from the country, characterizing it as an “excessive demand.”
