Rafael Grossi, the IAEA chief has said that Iran is close to having nuclear weapons before the second round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapons programme. The first round of talks took place in Oman in an ‘indirect’ format.
The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi, has said that Iran was “not far” from having a nuclear bomb. The statement was made shortly before he arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for talks. Grossi met Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as he wrote on X, “Cooperation with (the IAEA) is indispensable to provide credible assurances about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme at a time when diplomacy is urgently needed.”
Iran enriches uranium to up to 60 per cent purity
Notably, US President Donald Trump pulled out of a nuclear deal signed between Iran and major powers in 2018 during his first term. Following Trump’s unilateral withdrawal, Iran has abandoned all limits on its programme and enriches uranium to up to 60 per cent purity — near weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent.
In case Gross’s statement comes true, Iran will become the 10th country to possess nuclear weapons. The other countries having nuclear arsenals include Russia, the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea.
According to a report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, here’s the list of countries with nuclear warheads:
- Russia: 5,880
- United States: 5,225
- China: 600
- France: 290
- United Kingdom: 225
- India: 172
- Pakistan: 170
- Israel: 90
- North Korea: 50
What is NPT?
The major powers of the world, including the United States, the UK, China, France, and Russia, came together, seeking to prevent the nuclear weapon ranks from expanding further as they negotiated the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968 and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1996.
Notably, India, Israel, and Pakistan never signed the NPT and currently possess nuclear weapons. It is to be noted that while Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons, it maintains a policy of nuclear opacity, which means never officially confirming the existence of its nuclear program.
How do US, China count nuclear warheads?
The United States and Russia have currently deployed over 1,400 warheads on several hundred missiles and bombers and are also reportedly modernising their nuclear delivery systems.
Countries count nuclear warheads by using the provisions of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) agreement, which was signed on April 8, 2010, in Prague between Russia and the US. It came into force on February 5, 2011.
