IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the agency is gradually resuming safeguards work in Iran but is not yet inspecting all declared sites and that material enriched to 60% remains in the country. "We are gradually, coming back," Grossi said, while adding that the IAEA is not yet inspecting "the struck or the stricken sites, Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow."

Grossi told reporters that the IAEA has seen "movement" and normal industrial activity at some nuclear sites but that such activity does not by itself indicate a resumption of enrichment: "these are big industrial sites. There are trucks, there are people moving ... but nothing that would say ... that there is work involving the material, for example, centrifuges."

Why it matters: The presence of weapons‑usable enriched uranium and limitations on inspector access shape how the agency assesses Irans nuclear activities and the international communitys options for verification. Grossi warned that damage to Iranian facilities from recent strikes has "set back the nuclear programme in Iran considerably" while also complicating the IAEAs work.

Context and agency role: Grossi said Iran has reiterated its intention to remain within the Treaty on the Non‑Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the safeguards regime, but noted that cooperation has sometimes been reduced following contentious events or international resolutions. He described ongoing diplomatic contacts with Iranian officials and repeated that a comprehensive safeguards agreement obliges Iran to permit inspections. "If we don't inspect, if we are not there, then, of course, the doubt, the concerns start to grow," Grossi said.

On Iranian domestic measures, Grossi noted reporters questions about recent parliamentary legislation to suspend cooperation, saying internal Iranian laws "create obligations for Iranians, not for the IAEA," and that his approach has been diplomatic engagement to address Tehran's security concerns. He said discussions brokered with Egyptian facilitation in July helped restore a working understanding to allow inspections to proceed, though "not perfectly."

Limits of current observations: Grossi said the agency has "limited detail" because inspector presence is constrained and that satellite imagery and observed site activity to date do not show indicators that would support a hypothesis of substantive ongoing enrichment work. He encouraged readers of IAEA reports to consult the agencys written assessments for the detailed basis of the agencys statements.

Outlook: Grossi said the IAEA continues conversations with Iran and other regional actors and that stabilizing the verification relationship will require sustained dialogue and concrete arrangements to permit necessary inspections.