Photo/Illutration Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks during an interview in Oslo on Dec. 11. (Gakushi Fujiwara)

OSLO—The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency praised the work of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize recipient, describing the organization of atomic bomb survivors as a “beacon of responsibility shining constantly in the collective horizon.”

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, who has long been involved in nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, compared Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, to “memory.”

“Memory is an indispensable element in our life,” he told The Asahi Shimbun in Oslo on Dec. 11. “It’s not a memory that holds us back in the past. It is a memory that is creative and allows us to move forward.”

During the award ceremony the day before, Grossi received an emergency alert while Terumi Tanaka, a co-chairperson of Nihon Hidankyo, was delivering a speech.

He was informed that an IAEA vehicle came under a drone attack while heading toward the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in south-central Ukraine.

The vehicle was part of a convoy transporting inspectors replacing those stationed at the plant, whose safety and security are at risk under Russian military control. No one was injured.

“While we were on this solemn occasion, reality hit us straight in the face,” said Grossi, who has visited the plant five times. “There is a world full of danger and uncertainty out there.

“We have to be dealing with very concrete and urgent problems.”

IAEA, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for its efforts to ensure that nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes “in the safest possible way” and to prevent it from being converted to military use.

Grossi said the current international situation is fraught with crises and growing tensions.

In particular, he expressed concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.

Tehran is now capable of producing 34 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity a month, up from a previous 4.7 kg, according to Grossi.

Grossi said he conveyed his concerns to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

“These large amounts of uranium enriched at almost weapons grade level raise eyebrows internationally,” he said. “We do not judge intentions, but we have to warn about the consequences of certain actions.”

In the Middle East, military conflicts are continuing between Israel, a de facto nuclear weapons state, and the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip and other anti-Israeli forces.

The Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad collapsed on Dec. 8 following a civil war of more than a decade.

Grossi said the development has exacerbated an already volatile situation.

“I have to be actively engaged to prevent what could perhaps become an uncontrollable crisis in the Middle East.”

Grossi expressed expectations about the leadership of Donald Trump, who will return to the White House in January, referring to his diplomatic efforts with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his first administration.

He said that type of “direct engagement is indispensable” in dealing with Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

“Perhaps we will be able to work together with (Trump) and his administration,” he said. “I look forward to engaging with him as soon as possible.”

(This article was written by Gakushi Fujiwara and Tadashi Sugiyama.)

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