Iran rejects giving up uranium enrichment, handing over enriched stockpile

Iran will not give up its right to enrich uranium or hand over its enriched uranium stockpile, the country's nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said Thursday.

Speaking to reporters, Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said uranium enrichment is an inseparable part of the nuclear process, according to state broadcaster IRIB.

When asked whether Tehran could abandon uranium enrichment, he said: "Under no circumstances."

"How can you claim to have a nuclear industry without having the starting point of the process?" he asked.

Eslami said the nuclear industry is a driving force behind scientific and technological development, stressing that Iran would not retreat from its right to technological advancement.

He also ruled out handing over Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, saying: "No, there is no such thing."

Regarding cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Eslami said inspections of nuclear facilities damaged by US-Israeli attacks remain impossible because of continuing security threats.

"The agency itself knows that the facilities have been bombed and that the threat remains active," he said.

Eslami said Iranian legislation restricts cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, particularly over concerns about the safety of nuclear facilities, personnel and researchers.

"As long as security is not established, naturally, their entry is not possible," he added.

However, Eslami said IAEA inspectors had visited facilities that were not targeted in the attacks and carried out routine inspections under arrangements made by Tehran.

He criticized the agency for failing to acknowledge those inspections and accused it of acting under pressure from the US and Israel to gather information about damaged nuclear facilities.

The remarks came amid continuing disagreements between Tehran and the IAEA over access to nuclear sites damaged in US-Israeli strikes.

Iran's parliament approved legislation in June 2025 suspending cooperation with the IAEA following Israeli and US attacks on the country's nuclear facilities. The legislation made inspections conditional on security guarantees and approval by Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

Iran's Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan nuclear facilities were targeted during the June 2025 conflict, while Natanz was struck again during US-Israeli attacks in March 2026.

In June, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution calling on Tehran to provide information about its enriched uranium stockpiles and grant inspectors access to verify nuclear material.

The agency has said it remains unable to verify the status and whereabouts of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile because of restricted access to nuclear facilities.

Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful and insists that uranium enrichment is its legitimate right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.