Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Iran ‘not far’ from nuclear bomb, says head of UN atomic agency
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses Iranian government officials in Tehran on April 15, 2025. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
Iran is not far from having an atomic bomb, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog is quoted as saying in a Le Monde interview published today, just hours before a visit to Tehran.
International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi says Iran still has a way to go before getting the bomb, but adds: “They’re not far from it, you have to acknowledge.”
Grossi likens the development of a nuclear weapon to a jigsaw puzzle, adding that Iran “has the pieces and they could eventually put them together one day.”
Grossi is due in Iran later today for talks with senior officials.
The UN watchdog was tasked with overseeing Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal that fell apart after Donald Trump withdrew from it during his first term as US president.
