US President Donald Trump on Thursday maintained that the US would secure Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium "one way or the other."
"We want to get it. We'll take it one way or the other. We'll get it. We'll either get it or we'll take it. They'll either give it to us or we'll take it," the US president said at the White House. "Won't even be hard."
Trump's remarks come amid an ongoing stalemate between the US and Iran as talks over forging a permanent end to the war, currently locked in a deadline extended by the US president, remain stalled. Reports have indicated that Iran proposed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while leaving negotiations over its nuclear program for a later date.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said Wednesday that the watchdog's verification efforts have been hindered by security conditions on the ground.
He said inspectors were scheduled to visit a newly declared Iranian nuclear facility on June 13 last year, but US-Israeli strikes began the same day.
"Access was going to take place on June 13, on the day the attacks commence," he said, adding that the timing made inspection impossible.
Grossi said the agency had been closely monitoring a large stockpile of enriched uranium in Iran before the conflict escalated.
