Tehran 'not far' from nuclear bomb

UN watchdog chief sounds warning

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TEHRAN: The UN nuclear watchdog's chief Rafael Grossi warned that Iran was "not far" from possessing a nuclear bomb, shortly before he arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for talks.

Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons - an allegation Tehran has consistently denied, insisting that its programme is for peaceful civilian purposes.

"It's like a puzzle. They have the pieces, and one day they could eventually put them together," Mr Grossi told French newspaper Le Monde in an interview published on Wednesday.

"There's still a way to go before they get there. But they're not far off, that has to be acknowledged," he said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) watchdog was tasked with overseeing Iran's nuclear programme and its compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal which collapsed three years later when the United States withdrew from it during President Donald Trump's first term.