IAEA claims to have lost track of Iranian stockpile of enriched uranium.

247 - The location of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium — material that theoretically approaches the level needed to produce nuclear weapons — is currently unknown, claims the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

The information was confirmed by the entity's director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, in an interview with Bloomberg Television this Wednesday (18). The story was originally published by the Bloomberg news agency.

According to IAEAApproximately 409 kilograms of the enriched element, reaching levels close to those required for a suspected bomb, are, or should be, sealed by the agency itself in an underground facility in Isfahan, central Iran. However, the intense bombing conducted by Israel in recent weeks has hampered surveillance efforts and made the material's actual location uncertain.

“I’m not so sure,” Grossi said when asked about the stockpile remaining at its original location. “In wartime, all nuclear sites are closed. No inspections, no normal activity can take place.”

Interruption in inspections and risks of "clandestine movement"

According to Grossi, the on-site inspections — which occurred more than once a day before the Israeli attacks — were suspended due to the start of the Israeli bombings, and there is no official information about any additional security measures that Iran may have adopted to protect the stockpile. "We haven't been informed of anything in detail. We don't know what those additional protective measures might be," he stated.

The IAEA continues to monitor the sites using satellite imagery and, to date, has not identified any indication that the material has been removed. Should this occur without notification, it would represent a serious violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which Iran is a signatory. “Iran is aware that this stockpile needs to remain under continuous supervision by the IAEA.” IAEA"The director emphasized."