Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), warned on Monday of a wave of nuclear proliferation if Iran builds a nuclear weapon.
“Many countries have said that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, they will do the same. I think we heard it very clearly from many countries,” Grossi said on the sidelines of an IAEA conference in Vienna.
“We must avoid a worsening of the erosion of the non-proliferation regime. This is very important, and I think my Iranian counterparts know that. I think adding nuclear weapons to the Middle East cauldron is a very bad idea.” he said.
Grossi called for cooperation with Iran to prevent this. He called on Iran to show more transparency about its nuclear program and noted that Saudi Arabia had indicated it would respond accordingly to an Iranian nuclear weapon.
Although official Iranian policy does not provide for the acquisition of a nuclear weapon, several representatives have recently raised concerns with comments about a possible change in this doctrine and about Iran’s capabilities regarding building a nuclear weapon.
Grossi has repeatedly noted that Iran is enriching uranium to near weapons levels.
Germany, France and Britain have been working to draft a possible resolution to be presented to the IAEA Board of Governors this week that would respond to Tehran’s failure to cooperate with IAEA inspectors.
Iran has denied access to experienced inspectors and has not provided information about previously secret nuclear power plants where traces of nuclear material have been found.
