On the 25th, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Grossi stated that once the Singapore government decides to deploy nuclear power generation, he believes preparations can be made very quickly.
He said: "Singapore will likely be able to establish its first nuclear power plant—which can be scaled in size—within a few years, and it could even be in a broader sense, cooperating with ASEAN neighbors."
Grossi delivered a speech at the National University of Singapore that day discussing nuclear security, safety, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and responded to questions from the media after his speech.
He indicated that ASEAN is studying various nuclear power generation possibilities, and Singapore is no exception.
He said: "Singapore has a technological foundation and a mature system; ideally, Singapore will be able to use nuclear energy for power generation very soon."
He emphasized: "The prerequisite for deployment is that Singapore must first make the decision to utilize nuclear power generation, but Singapore has not made this decision yet. Once the decision is made, considering Singapore’s characteristics, I think it should not take long to deploy."
He said that during this visit, when meeting with Singapore President Tharman, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, as well as Manpower Minister Dr. Tan See Leng—who is in charge of energy and technology—they all "clearly expressed interest in nuclear deployment."
If all goes smoothly, IAEA to send mission to Iran in coming weeks
Grossi also pointed out that if all goes smoothly, the International Atomic Energy Agency will send a technical delegation to Iran in the coming weeks to conduct nuclear inspections and reopen discussions on cooperation with Iran.
He noted that Iran has stated it is ready to restart some technical-level dialogues.
He said: "I want to stress, there is no discrimination here, nor any political agenda. Iran has many nuclear facilities and activities which must remain transparent. If Iran is not transparent, problems may arise."
He stated: "After the conflict between Israel and Iran, as you know, some of those sites suffered considerable damage. As I suggested to the Iranian Foreign Minister, I think it is very important that we sit down and begin discussions on how to restart the plan."