International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Rafael Grossi told Israel Hayom and i24NEWS in an interview which aired on Sunday that “if Iran strives for normalcy, it must exercise transparency".

Grossi was asked about the traces and uranium particles that were found by IAEA inspectors at two unreported sites and about the fact that Iran has yet to provide responses to questions about this.

"Well, this is a process that has been going on for a long time," he replied. "I assumed the role of [IAEA] director-general at the end of 2019 and immediately started the mission with a very clear, very direct approach toward Iran, noting that the situation cannot continue like this. If you follow the Iranian issue you might remember that I asked for physical access to a number of places and was rejected at first."

"This is a cause for concern because as you mentioned, we found traces of enriched uranium, meaning uranium that has undergone a very specific process from another, unreported, site where nuclear material should never have been found. So our questions to Iran were very clear, simple, and transparent: if there was nuclear material here, where is it? If there was equipment, where is it, and what was done with it? Because we have no record of that. This brought about a frustrating, circular process of questions and answers that I found to be technically noncredible and that led, at a certain point, to an impasse," he added.

On the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, Grossi said, "This agreement was always dysfunctional; it was in effect but not enforced, when the Trump administration, as you probably remember, unilaterally withdrew from this agreement in 2018. Iran remained in the agreement for a period of time and at one point also began to abandon the nuclear control measures in the agreement.”

"These processes, the IAEA investigation process I head, and the process of negotiations that have resumed with the Biden administration in the US have been progressing to a pretty clear point for all the players and certain, actual progress of the IAEA investigation should have taken place to facilitate the negotiations on a second [nuclear agreement] and reach a positive result,” he added.

"Let me put it this way: it is hard to imagine that anyone can reach a comprehensive agreement like the current JCPOA when talks with the IAEA in the second negotiations are deadlocked," Grossi stated.

"There are many open and pretty technical issues at hand. To simplify it without getting into the convoluted technicalities, I would say that the explanations we got are technically inadequate, meaning that the explanations we got about the presence of those particles are not plausible," said Grossi.

Grossi added that until such time that the nature of the Iranian nuclear program is determined, "The organization should be relentless in its activities" and stated, "So I will say to you what I said to the Iranians – what I made very clear to them: if you want normalcy you must exercise transparency. Otherwise, it would be completely impossible. So I say again – my approach is positive, it is constructive, but it is also rigorous."

Asked how long does the IAEA believe it would take Iran to enrich uranium to a military-grade and possibly get a nuclear bomb should a new deal not be signed in the coming days or weeks, Grossi replied, "You have to distinguish between two very important things: one is the possibility of accumulating nuclear material in a certain amount, and the other is to possess nuclear weapons. Between the two there is a path that can be long or short, depending on the technological capabilities that a country develops if it strives to get nuclear weapons illegally."

The IAEA chief said he understands Israel's concern about the Iranian nuclear program, noting he spoke to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett about these issues.

"The issue of nuclear weapons and the development of nuclear weapons has been a constant concern,” he stressed. "Therefore, I fully understand the concerns that exist and my duty as head of the IAEA is to explain the situation. I found in the prime minister a very sophisticated interlocutor, who understands the problems with Iran well. As I mentioned, there is an open dialogue with him and we will continue with it, of course."

He stressed that "Israel is a very important partner and friend of the IAEA in a number of activities related to the application of nuclear technology that the public may not be familiar with, but are very important, even if they do not go through the strategic path we have described so far.”

"Secondly, I want to say not only to Israel but also to the international community that the IAEA has the necessary, strong, and objective means to ensure that there will be no proliferation of nuclear weapons. This is why the support of all of the members of the organization is so important to us. The IAEA's strength is derived from the strength its members themselves lend it,” added Grossi.

"This is why I found the conversation I had with Prime Minister Bennett a few days ago so satisfactory – for us, it is essential. The support for the international organization in these historical moments, when there is so much uncertainty and when the scenario by which countries want to procure existing nuclear weapons, is something that I see as essential," he concluded.