UN atomic watchdog chief says Iran's nuclear program advancing rapidly

The head of the UN’s atomic watchdog said urged incoming US President Joe Biden to return to the Iran Nuclear Deal immediately in order to halt Iran’s nuclear advancements.

“It is clear that we don’t have many months ahead of us. We have weeks,” Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), issued the dire warning in an interview with Reuters.

Grossi made his comments in an interview with Reuters and said Monday that Tehran had resumed 20% uranium enrichment, as passed by Iranian law, and that they would stop access to UN inspectors in February. The 20% enrichment shows that Iran is not seeking to use nuclear power for civil purposes as this only requires 5% enrichment. Instead, their intentions are quite clearly moving towards nuclear weapons-grade enrichment of 90%.

Reviving Iran’s nuclear deal must happen within the coming weeks, the international atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday after Tehran resumed 20% uranium enrichment and its parliament threatened to curb access for inspectors in February.

An Iranian lawmaker said on Jan. 9 said it would give the incoming Biden administration, which takes office on Jan. 20, until Feb. 21 to reverse sanctions.

“I must take it seriously because it’s the law,” Grossi said, adding that he believed the Islamic Republic’s government intended to implement it.

Grossi said Iran was progressing “quite rapidly” in 20% enrichment and that based on estimations it would be able to reach about 10 kilograms (22 pounds) a month at its facility in Fordow.

“There will have to be a clear understanding on how the initial terms and provisions of the JCPOA (nuclear deal) are going to be recomplied with,” Grossi said.

Unfortunately, the previous terms of the Iran deal, or JCPOA, did little to curb Iran’s attempts at making nuclear weapons or developing ballistic missiles and other weapons to threaten Israel and destabilise the region. It is clear that President-elect Biden does plan on re-entering the USA into the Iran Deal, but it would need some major changes in order to stop Iran from continuing its destructive efforts.

Let’s pray for this situation. Iran threatens Israel with destruction while the world does little to stop this aggression. We will need real leadership to halt Iran’s plans.