Israeli strike may push Iran toward the bomb, UN nuclear chief warns

Such an attack "might have an amalgamating effect which would make a determination on the part of Iran to go to a nuclear weapon or to abandon the treaty on non-proliferation. I’m telling you this because they have told me,” Grossi said.

The IAEA chief emphasized the difficulty any military operation would have of destroying Iran's nuclear capabilities.

“Certainly this program runs wide and deep. And when I say deep, I know what I’m saying. So many of these facilities are extremely well protected. This would require a very, very devastating force to affect it.”

The United States and Iran are locked in high-stakes negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program, and US President Donald Trump has mooted an attack if they fail.

Israel struck multiple targets inside Iran in October and has repeatedly vowed to deny Iran a nuclear weapon, which it views as an existential threat.

Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons but its arch-nemesis Israel and Western countries doubt its intentions.

Grossi said Iran needed to the let the nuclear watchdog do its job by allowing more inspection and explaining past behavior.

"I am in a constant dialog, especially with the foreign minister (Abbas) Araghchi," Grossi said. "(They say) they have nothing happened. If this is the case, then they should allow us to do our job and to get as much access as we can."

Western powers may push for a resolution finding Tehran non-compliant with its nuclear non-proliferation obligations at the upcoming quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors this week.

Iran has warned of an unspecified strong response to any such move and has accused the IAEA of being swayed by its Western adversaries.

The United States accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon as part of the shadowy Amad Project scrapped in 2004, an effort Washington says was overseen by Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research.

"There are areas of real concern and we need to get to the bottom of a number of things," Grossi said, without referring to any specific issues.

"Over the past few years ... we discovered traces of enriched uranium in places that were not supposed to be having any nuclear activity. So my question here - this is not an accusation - It's just a very logical question: if we found these traces there, what was going on?"

The IAEA would likely play a central role in verifying and overseeing any nuclear agreement between Iran and the United States, as it did with an international deal US President Donald Trump scrapped in 2018.

Hawks in Israel and the United States have said Iran's lack of full disclosure on past activities calls into question its commitment to any future deal.

"For years ... we have been getting some answers, and these answers have not been satisfactory," Grossi added. "Please do not believe that we are naive."

"We have a meeting with Iran on Thursday," US President Donald Trump told reporters at an investment roundtable on Monday.

"They're just asking for things that you can't do. They don't want to give up ... They seek enrichment. We can't have enrichment. We want just the opposite. And so far, they're not there," he added.

"I hate to say that, because the alternative is a very, very dire one, but they're not there."

Trump also confirmed that he discussed Iran in his phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier today but reiterated that he prefers a deal to conflict.

"We are doing a lot of work with Iran now. We want to reach a deal with Iran, but sometimes their negotiators are too tough," Trump said.

"We want a deal, we don't want destruction and death. I hope it will work out, but maybe it won't work out," he added.

"We are doing a lot of work with Iran now. We want to reach a deal with Iran, but sometimes their negotiators are too tough," US President Donald Trump said on Monday.

"We want a deal, we don't want destruction and death. I hope it will work out, but maybe it won't work out," he added.

He also confirmed that he discussed Iran in his phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier today.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump held a phone call on Monday in which they discussed the Iran nuclear dossier, Israeli and US media outlets reported.

The conversation lasted around 40 minutes, Israel's Channel 12 and the Times of Israel reported, and is due to be followed by a meeting of the Israeli security cabinet on Iran.

It comes as Washington is hoping to clinch a Gaza ceasefire deal and hostage release as well as an Iran nuclear deal.

Hosseinnejad, a nail technician from Eslamshahr, south of Tehran, vanished on May 25 after leaving work to care for her younger brother.

Her disappearance quickly drew attention after her family raised the alarm on social media, prompting thousands to share her photo in hopes of locating her.

Instagram posts by Hosseinnejad show a determined young woman supporting her family, expressing sympathy for executed protesters and backing the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.

On June 5, police arrested a man in his early 30s in connection with her death. Authorities said he operated an unlicensed taxi and had a criminal record.

Public reaction

The response was immediate. Messages of sorrow poured in from citizens, artists, and public figures.

“One murder victim and 90 million wounded,” many posted on social media.

Zahra Behrouz-Azar, vice president for women and family affairs, wrote on Telegram that the reaction sent a clear message: preventing violence against women is a national demand.

She cited “cultural and economic crises, weaknesses in preventive infrastructure, and gaps in legal and support systems” as causes.

State and police criticized

After her disappearance, many accused the authorities of systemic failure to protect citizens—especially women.

“How is it that thousands of agents and surveillance cameras are present across cities to harass Iranian women for improper veiling, but no measures (are taken) to ensure the safety of citizens, especially women?” activist and former political prisoner Hossein Ronaghi asked on X before Hosseinnejad’s body was found.

Hours after the arrest, police released two videos of the suspect’s interrogation and confession.

In the footage, he admits to trying to steal Hosseinnejad’s phone, stabbing her when she resisted and abandoning her body near Tehran’s airport. One video shows him on the floor during interrogation, recoiling after being slapped.

“The videos of the arrest and interrogation of Elaheh Hosseinnejad’s murderer are enough on their own to make me lose all hope in the improvement of security in this country,” digital rights activist and entrepreneur Nima Namdari posted on X.

“Justice will never be established in a country where the rights of the accused and the principles of fair trial are not respected. As long as there is no justice, there will be no security,” he added.

Legal inequality under scrutiny

The case has revived debate over Iran’s gender-based legal discrimination.

Murder is punishable by death, but if a man kills a woman, the victim’s family must first pay half the value of full blood money (diyeh)—set annually by judicial authorities—to the killer’s family before the execution can proceed.

This does not apply when both victim and perpetrator are male, reinforcing what activists call a system that devalues women’s lives.

“Why should the victim and their family bear the cost of the inequality in the law?” user @mynamefarshad posted on X.

Supporters of Sharia-based laws say the system allows flexibility. In high-profile cases, the state can pay the blood money itself to proceed with execution under Islamic jurisprudence.

Police released Hosseinnejad’s body to her family on Friday. Citizen reports say she was buried immediately, under strict security, without a public announcement in Eslamshahr.