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UNITED NATIONS — <\/span>The head of the U.N. nuclear agency said Friday that he expects the use of nuclear power could more than triple by 2060.<\/p>\n Rafael Grossi said in the International Atomic Energy Agency\u2019s annual report to the U.N. General Assembly that this will be driven by electrification, data centers powered by artificial intelligence and “technology companies\u2019 appetite for reliable, carbon-free power.\u201d<\/p>\n Nuclear energy is seen by a growing number of countries as key to improving their energy security, he said, stressing that it is on par with solar energy and “safer than every other option.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2025, more than 400 operating reactors in more than 30 countries produced 10% of global electricity and a quarter of its low-carbon electricity,\u201d the IAEA director-general said. \u201cMore than 60 new reactors are under construction and the projections for future nuclear capacity have shifted dramatically upward.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the growing use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, Grossi spoke about the nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, the \u201cunprecedented threats to nuclear safety\u201d from the war in Ukraine, and worrying reports that other countries he didn\u2019t name are talking about acquiring nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n On Iran<\/a>, whose nuclear sites were struck by the U.S. last year before the U.S. and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28, Grossi told U.N. member nations that the necessary technical work for a diplomatic agreement has been done.<\/p>\n \u201cI call on the parties to redouble their efforts towards agreeing a diplomatic solution that includes the IAEA’s indispensable verification role, without which no agreement can be sustainable,\u201d he said. \u201cIAEA inspectors must be able to return to Iran expeditiously. That requires a return to the negotiating table.\u201d<\/p>\n In North Korea,<\/a> where leader Kim Jong Un has a growing nuclear program without any IAEA oversight, Grossi warned that it \u201cstands as a stark reminder of the consequences when red lines are crossed\u201d in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning nuclear weapons production.<\/p>\n In Ukraine,<\/a> he singled out the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, saying it remains \u201cin a precarious position\u201d with frequent power losses, limited back-up diesel supplies \u201cand military activity threatening the plant and the people who work there.\u201d<\/p>\n On a positive note, Grossi said the IAEA has made \u201csignificant progress\u201d in clarifying and resolving outstanding questions regarding Syria’s nuclear activities<\/a> after nearly two decades of uncertainty. That’s as a result of engaging with the government of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, he said.<\/p>\n He reported in September that the Bashar Assad-era government \u2014 which was ousted in December 2024 by opposition forces led by al-Sharaa \u2014 was constructing a nuclear reactor that was configured to produce fissile material for possible use in nuclear weapons. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n