Vienna/New York – The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has revealed that the current location of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile is unknown, raising major global concerns.
In an interview with Bloomberg, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Israel’s recent attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities have disrupted inspections. As a result, the agency can no longer verify the location of Iran’s 409 kilograms of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade — enough to potentially build 10 nuclear bombs.
Grossi stressed that this stockpile was supposed to be stored under IAEA safeguards at the underground Isfahan facility. However, since the escalation in military tensions, Iran has not provided any updates or safety assurances regarding the material. Satellite monitoring continues, but no signs of movement have been detected so far.
He warned that if Iran has relocated the stockpile to a secret location, it would constitute a serious violation of the global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Although Iran hasn’t shown active signs of weaponizing its uranium, Grossi acknowledged that Iran is enriching uranium to levels no other nation currently reaches without a declared weapons program.
Meanwhile, U.S. scientific agencies noted that the entire stockpile could be moved using just 16 metal cylinders — making concealment or transfer logistically feasible. This possibility is now causing growing anxiety among global nuclear watchdogs.