Iran operated three secret nuclear sites until early 2000s, UN watchdog says

Rafael Grossi accuses Iran of impeding investigations and 'sanitising' locations

International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi. EPA

Iran had at least three undeclared nuclear sites until the early 2000s, but refuses to provide “credible answers" about its activities there, the UN’s nuclear watchdog said on Monday.

The three sites, Varamin, Marivan and Turquzabad, were accessed by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2019 and 2020. Uranium particles were detected at the sites.

But the agency’s efforts to obtain an explanation have gone unanswered, said the IAEA director general Rafael Grossi.

“Unfortunately, Iran has repeatedly either not answered, or not provided, technically credible answers to the agency’s questions,” he said at the quarterly board meeting on Monday.

This included high-level meetings and consultations, he added. Mr Grossi last week met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Cairo, along with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

The lack of answers has meant the IAEA could not conclude that Iran's nuclear programme is "entirely peaceful", as Tehran has long claimed, Mr Grossi said. He accused Tehran of seeking to “sanitise the locations”, which he said has impeded the agency's work.

Details of the three sites were revealed in the IAEA’s quarterly report, which was widely leaked last week. It found that Iran had an estimated 400kg of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent as of May 17, marking an increase of more than 133kg since the last report in February.

Uranium needs to be enriched to about 90 per cent to develop nuclear weapons. The amount of material is enough to produce 10 weapons if refined to that level.

"The agency’s comprehensive assessment of what took place, based on our technical evaluation of all available safeguards-relevant information, has led us to conclude that these three locations, and other possible related locations, were part of an undeclared structured nuclear programme carried out by Iran until the early 2000s and that some activities used undeclared nuclear material," Mr Grossi said.

He said that, while uranium enrichment was not illegal, Iran's continued accumulation of the material meant the IAEA would keep a close watch on its operations.

"When you are the only country in the world that is doing something like this at a level, which is very close to the level that you need to have a nuclear expolosive device, then [the IAEA] cannot ignore it," he said.

He suggested the nuclear material produced at the sites was “still outside of safeguards”.

The announcement comes as Iran holds indirect negotiations with the US over its nuclear programme. Mr Grossi said he supported the negotiations and called for a diplomatic solution that would include arrangements for the IAEA to properly verify Iran’s stockpile of nuclear material.

“I will continue to support and encourage the US and Iran to spare no effort and exercise wisdom and political courage to bring this to a successful conclusion,” he added. “The effect of a stabilised situation in Iran with regards to its nuclear programme will be immediate and bring the Middle East one big step closer to peace and prosperity."

France, the UK and Germany are preparing to press for a vote at the quarterly board meeting that could lead to UN sanctions being reimposed in October. The countries will refer to the report that highlights Iran's failure to comply with the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran threatened to release files pertaining to Israel's nuclear programme on Sunday, without specifying where the documents were from.

Mr Grossi confirmed that "documents belonging to the agency were in the hands of the Iranian authorities", adding this was a sign that Tehran was not co-operating with the IAEA's work.

"This is part of our assessment on the co-operation. We believe that an action like this is not compatible with the spirit of co-operation," he said.

The 2018 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, eased sanctions on Iran in return for placing restrictions on its nuclear programme. The deal is set to expire in Autumn this year.

US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, during his first term in office. The findings in the IAEA report mean the terms under which the 2015 deal was signed could no longer be revived.

"The JCPOA was designed to be applied to a very specific type of Iran programme, which is totally different now," Mr Grossi said. "Even if you wanted to revive it, it would not be enough."