By: The northern miner

The United Nations' nuclear monitoring agency has expressed serious concern over its inability to verify the status of Iran's stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium. For five months, since sites were bombed by the US and Israel in June, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors have been denied access to these locations.

In a recent report, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated that the verification of this nuclear material is "long overdue" and that Iran's failure to account for the uranium's whereabouts is a "matter of serious concern." This lack of access means the agency cannot confirm that Iran's nuclear program remains exclusively for peaceful purposes.

The bombings, which targeted facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, have not only destroyed infrastructure but also rolled back decades of inspection access. While Iran has always denied seeking a nuclear weapon, claiming its accelerated enrichment is a response to former US President Donald Trump's sanctions and withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, the current situation creates significant uncertainty.

Recent satellite imagery shows activity at the bombed sites, but inspectors are unsure if this is merely cleanup or an effort to relocate uranium inventories. The IAEA has assessed that seven declared nuclear sites were impacted by the strikes. Prior to the attacks, Iran possessed enough highly-enriched uranium to potentially construct about a dozen nuclear warheads.