Trump warns Iran as Hegseth faces Capitol Hill grilling

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog says much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely still at the Isfahan nuclear complex, buried in tunnels.

International Atomic Energy Agency’s best estimate is that a large share of the material stored there before the 2025 war remains there, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The IAEA has satellite imagery showing the effects of recent strikes but has not been able to return to the site to confirm the uranium’s status or verify whether agency seals are still intact, according to Grossi.

Inspections at Isfahan ended when last year’s war broke out, leaving the watchdog to rely on imagery, prior records and outside information as it tries to track one of the most sensitive elements of Iran’s nuclear program.

The IAEA says Iran has 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity, which is close to weapons-grade, and Grossi has said roughly 200 kilograms is believed to be stored in tunnels at Isfahan. That unresolved stockpile keeps Iran’s nuclear material at the center of any effort to turn a fragile ceasefire into a broader agreement.

Grossi told the AP that any durable deal will require full inspections and likely some arrangement to remove or dilute the material. For now, though, the basic problem remains unchanged: the uranium is believed to still be there, and no outside authority has been able to check it on the ground.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.