Diplomats fear growing power of Iranian factions that want nuclear weapons

Rafael Grossi, the director of the IAEA, said the inspectorate had lost ‘continuity of knowledge’ on many areas of Iran’s nuclear programme. Photograph: Lisa Leutner/Reuters

There are growing fears among diplomats in the US and Europe that Iran’s largely unmonitored nuclear programme and the destabilisation caused by the Gaza conflict are strengthening the hand of Iranian factions that back the development of nuclear weapons.

The Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, has reiterated in recent days that his country is pursuing a civilian nuclear programme for now.