Middle East Escalation Could Have 'Nuclear Dimensions,' Watchdog Warns

Tensions in the Middle East could spill over into the use of nuclear weapons, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

The director-general of the nuclear weapons watchdog issued the warning, according to Sky News Arabia, as Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza rages on, and Iranian allied groups continued their attacks on U.S. targets in the region.

"We fear that the current conflict in the Middle East will expand and have nuclear dimensions," Rafael Grossi said, speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, according to a translation of a post on X by the outlet.

Grossi called on Tehran to cooperate with the IAEA regarding its nuclear capabilities, saying that the country is "not entirely transparent" regarding its atomic program.

"Of course this increases dangers," Grossi said, as he warned of "loose talk about nuclear weapons," the Associated Press reported. He said that an Iranian official had boasted of a "disassembled" nuclear weapon and urged Tehran to "let me know what you have."

Newsweek contacted the Iranian foreign ministry by email for comment.

Grossi didn't identify the official, but Ali Akbar Salehi, an official who once led Tehran's nuclear program, told Iranian television on Sunday that the country had all it need to build a weapon. "We have [crossed] all the thresholds of nuclear science and technology," Salehi said, according to Iran International.

Since the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Iran has pursued nuclear enrichment at just below weapons-grade levels. The country has repeatedly denied seeking nuclear weapons.

Iran has enough uranium enriched to up to 60 percent, which if enriched further, could be used to make three nuclear bombs, according to the IAEA's definition, or more than that at lower enrichment levels, according to a report by Reuters.

Salehi's comments come amid heightened tensions in the region, with Iranian-backed militias—Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi rebels—launching attacks targeting Israel and its allies in response to the ongoing war in Gaza.

On February 3, the U.S. military carried out strikes against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the killing of American soldiers and drone strikes on U.S. bases in the region.

"The limited scale of its retaliation operations protects the White House from accusations by hawkish Republicans that it is doing nothing to deter Iran, while telegraphing America's punches preserves the diplomatic channel to Tehran," Michael Doran, director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, told Newsweek last week.