Nearly a week after the United States bombed several Iranian nuclear facilities, uncertainty looms over the fate of approximately 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium. Iran revealed that it had relocated the material ahead of the strikes, but the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has yet to confirm its whereabouts.

In an interview on CBS News' Face the Nation, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated, “We don’t know where the material could be or if part of it could have been under the attack during those 12 days. Some could have been destroyed as part of the attack, but some could have been moved.”

Grossi said that Iran’s nuclear capabilities go far beyond physical stockpiles. “Iran has a very vast, ambitious program,” he said, adding that even if materials are destroyed or moved, the country's technical knowledge and industrial infrastructure remain intact. "Iran is a very sophisticated country in terms of nuclear technology, as is obvious, so you cannot disinvent this,” he admitted, asserting that “you are not going to solve this in a definitive way militarily." 

The IAEA chief stressed the need for a diplomatic framework. “You are going to have an agreement, you are going to have an inspection system that will give everybody—regionally and globally—the assurances that we can definitely turn the page,” Grossi said.

On the issue of inspections, Grossi added that Iran has not formally expelled IAEA inspectors, calling this “constructive". However, he claimed that without continued access and technical verification, “nobody will have an idea of what is happening in Iran.”

Grossi concluded that Iran will continue to maintain a nuclear program, the structure of which remains uncertain and will likely be a central point in upcoming negotiations. “I am sure,” he said, “this will be part of the discussions, which I hope will be resuming soon.”

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Wider context

Grossi has come under sharp criticism in Tehran for what Iranian officials describe as a blatantly biased report on the country’s nuclear program, one that provided "Israel" with the very pretext it needed to launch its recent aggression on Iranian nuclear facilities.

While the aggression, backed by the United States, targeted civilian infrastructure and nuclear sites, the IAEA remained conspicuously silent, failing to condemn the attacks or acknowledge Iran’s right to sovereign scientific development. Now, in the wake of a ceasefire initiated by "Israel" and Iran’s decision to suspend all cooperation with the agency, Grossi has begun calling for diplomacy, only as Iran buries its martyrs in a mass funeral during which participants also demanded accountability from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), calling for the prosecution of its director, Rafael Grossi.

Iranian officials have lately accused Grossi of aiding in war crimes by facilitating narratives that justified the aggression and by turning a blind eye to the blatant targeting of civilian nuclear infrastructure.

It is worth noting that the aggression against Iran erupted when "Israel" launched a series of deadly strikes on June 13, targeting military and civilian sites.

The United States escalated the assault by bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities in a clear act of provocation.

Despite the devastation and loss, Iran stood firm, retaliating with strength and forcing both aggressors to call for a ceasefire. Though "Israel" and the US claimed success, Iran dismissed their actions as futile, reaffirming its sovereignty and unbroken resolve.

Read next: 'Israel's' war objectives turned into failures in Iran: Exclusive