In an interview with the French TV network France 24 broadcast early Friday, Grossi claimed that Iran’s nuclear program had been “seriously damaged” because of Israeli and U.S. attacks on enrichment facilities at Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow.

He said that “Iran will need time to rebuild the foundations of this industrial-scale technology,” and noted that experts estimate that time at one year or more.

Grossi stated that Iran’s nuclear material is mostly located at the sites that were attacked, and that this material gives Iran “the possibility of making several nuclear weapons.”

The Director General said that the U.S. and Israeli attacks marked a significant shift “from diplomacy to the use of force,” and represented a reversal from years of negotiations.

He urged a return to talks and described diplomacy as “the only way towards a sustainable solution.”

Grossi asserted that following the U.S. and Israeli attacks, “we have not been able to go back (to Iran). Iran passed domestic legislation saying that they must limit their cooperation with us.”

He added that the is still negotiating with Iran.

Grossi rejected claims that an report provided a pretext for the attack on Iran, saying that the report “did not have anything new” and was politically “overblown.”

He also dismissed statements that the Agency’s findings were affected by artificial intelligence, emphasizing that “our conclusions are reached by human inspectors, not machines.”

The head said that the Agency uses artificial intelligence to help process some data, but not to assess countries’ compliance with their nuclear obligations.