OMM Redaksiyası
Iran will not give up its right to enrich uranium or hand over its enriched uranium stockpile, the country’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said on Thursday.
Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, described enrichment as an inseparable part of the nuclear process, state broadcaster IRIB reported. Asked whether Tehran could abandon it, he replied: “Under no circumstances.”
“How can you claim to have a nuclear industry without having the starting point of the process?” he said, adding that the industry drives scientific and technological development. Iran would not retreat from its right to technological advancement, he said.
Eslami also ruled out handing over the country’s enriched uranium stockpile, saying: “No, there is no such thing.”
On cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Eslami said inspections of facilities damaged in US-Israeli attacks remained impossible because of ongoing security threats. “The agency itself knows that the facilities have been bombed and that the threat remains active,” he said.
He said Iranian legislation restricted cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, citing concerns about the safety of nuclear facilities, personnel and researchers. “As long as security is not established, naturally, their entry is not possible,” he added.
Eslami said IAEA inspectors had visited facilities that were not targeted and conducted routine inspections under arrangements made by Tehran. He criticized the agency for not acknowledging those visits and accused it of acting under US and Israeli pressure to gather information about damaged sites.
The remarks come amid continuing disputes between Tehran and the IAEA over access to nuclear sites damaged in US-Israeli strikes. Iran’s parliament approved legislation in June 2025 suspending cooperation with the agency after Israeli and US attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities. The law made inspections conditional on security guarantees and approval by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Iran’s nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan were targeted during the June 2025 conflict. Natanz was struck again during US-Israeli attacks in March 2026.
In June, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution calling on Tehran to provide information about its enriched uranium stockpile and allow inspectors access to verify nuclear material. The agency has said restricted access means it cannot verify the stockpile’s status or location.
Tehran says its nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful and maintains that uranium enrichment is a legitimate right under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
