IAEA discusses moving Iran's enriched uranium with Russia and US
Updated
Updated · The Jerusalem Post · May 2
IAEA discusses moving Iran's enriched uranium with Russia and US
11 articles · Updated · The Jerusalem Post · May 2
Rafael Grossi said most material is likely at Isfahan, hit in June's 12-day war and earlier strikes, and inspectors still cannot verify its location or IAEA seals.
Satellite imagery before the war showed a truck carrying 18 blue containers into the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center, believed to hold highly enriched uranium that has likely not been moved.
Grossi said Russia, the US and Iran have been consulted on extraction, while a planned IAEA inspection of a newly declared Isfahan enrichment facility was derailed when strikes began.
With Iran's nuclear material buried under rubble, can airstrikes still prevent the bomb?
After killing Iran's leader, what is the US endgame as the Middle East war escalates?
Iran’s Isfahan Uranium Stockpile: Risks, Diplomatic Failures, and Proliferation Threats in 2025–2026
Overview
Since the June 2025 airstrikes, Iran's stockpile of over 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% U-235 has been largely inaccessible, stored in a hardened underground facility at Isfahan. The airstrikes and Iran's refusal to allow IAEA inspections have created a verification blackout, preventing international oversight and raising proliferation concerns. Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis have stalled amid deep geopolitical rivalries, with Russia offering to remove the uranium but the US rejecting this, while Iran insists on monitored down-blending within its borders. Regional tensions and failed negotiations have further complicated the situation, leaving military options as risky last resorts and the risk of weaponization growing.