The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Tehran for talks with senior officials after indicating that Iran is not far off from creating its nuclear weapons.

Iran has enough material to produce many bombs but does not yet have nuclear weapons, Rafael Mariano Grossi told French daily Le Monde on Wednesday.

On the possibility of Tehran obtaining nuclear weapons, Grossi said: “It's like a jigsaw puzzle, they have the pieces and one day they can put it all together. There is a way to achieve this. But they are not far from it, we have to accept that. In the last four years, we have seen a remarkable acceleration in Iran in this area.”

Emphasising that the IAEA should be included in the dialogue process between Iran and the US on Iran's nuclear activities, Grossi said: “They know that we will have to give our opinion on a possible agreement because it will be up to us to check up on it.”

Grossi was welcomed at Tehran’s airport by Behrouz Kamalvandi, vice president of the country’s Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

During a two-day visit, Grossi is set to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Mohammad Islami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization.

Important to meet with Foreign Minister @araghchi during my timely visit to Iran. Cooperation with @IAEAorg is indispensable to provide credible assurances about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme at a time when diplomacy is urgently needed. pic.twitter.com/wlmsghttIK

— Rafael Mariano Grossi (@rafaelmgrossi) April 16, 2025

Negotiations between Iran and US

United States President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew his country from the nuclear deal with Iran in 2018, last month sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei calling for direct nuclear negotiations between the countries. Iran responded to the letter via Oman.

Following the exchange of letters, Iran and the US held indirect talks in Oman on Saturday, with both sides later calling the talks “positive and constructive.”

They announced they would meet again on April 19 in Rome.

Steve Witkoff, Trump's special Mideast envoy, said Tuesday that Iran should stop enriching uranium, after earlier speaking of an enrichment limit.

Araghchi said Iran was ready to address concerns about its nuclear program, but would not negotiate its right to enrich uranium.

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Source: TRT