Iran says uranium enrichment will continue despite recent strikes

Iran has no intention of halting its uranium enrichment activities, its ambassador to the United Nations said on Saturday, describing the effort as an “inalienable right” under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

“I don’t think enrichment will ever be stopped,” Amir Saeid Iravani told CBS News in an interview.

His remarks come as tensions rise following the June 22 strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran’s nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Fordow, and Natanz. U.S. President Donald Trump said the attacks had “completely destroyed” Iran’s key enrichment sites, claiming Tehran failed to relocate its enriched uranium stockpile in time.

However, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Iran retained the capability to resume enrichment within months, despite “serious but not total” damage to the facilities.

“In a few months, they could have a few cascades of centrifuges spinning again, producing enriched uranium,” Grossi told CBS.

Grossi also said the agency could not confirm whether Iran still possessed up to 400 kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity. “Some of it may have been destroyed, some could have been moved—we don’t know where it is,” he said.

While Grossi said IAEA inspectors have not found evidence that Iran is actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, he noted gaps in transparency. “We found uranium particles at undeclared sites, and we have never received credible explanations,” he said.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a phone call to restore IAEA access and return to negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as uphold the ceasefire agreement.