Rafael Grossi

Career

Grossi with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 11 October 2022. Grossi began working in nuclear policy during a collaboration between the Argentine foreign service and INVAP. Between 1997 and 2000, he was the president of the United Nations Group of Government Experts on the International Weapons Registry, and later became adviser to the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations on disarmament.

During his work for the Argentine foreign service, Grossi was the General Director of Political Coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, ambassador to Belgium and Argentina's permanent representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

In September 2015, the Argentine government announced the nomination of Grossi as a candidate for Director General of the IAEA, with support from other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2016, however, the government of Mauricio Macri withdrew its support to promote Susana Malcorra's candidacy as UN Secretary-General. In 2016, he was the President of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

In 2017, President Macri announced that he would nominate Grossi for the presidency of the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to be held in 2020.

Contribution to the search of ARA San Juan In November 2017, after the disappearance of ARA San Juan, Grossi had the idea of reviewing the records of the hydro-acoustic stations of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) as an alternative to obtain clues about what happened with the submarine. He contacted Lassina Zerbo, the Executive Secretary of the CTBTO, and convinced him of doing such reviews. His efforts paid off: the agency subsequently reported on "an underwater impulse event" occurred near the last known position of the submarine by the listening posts on Ascension Island and Crozet Islands at . The remains of the ill-fated ship were found a year later, about twenty kilometers from the estimated position based on the cited records.

Director General of IAEA On 2 August 2019, Grossi was presented as the Argentine candidate to become the Director General of IAEA. On 28 October 2019, the IAEA Board of Governors held its first vote to elect the new director general, but none of the candidates secured the two-thirds majority in the 35-member IAEA Board of Governors needed to be elected. The next day, 29 October, the second voting round was held, and Grossi won 24 votes, one more than the 23 required, and became the first Latin American to head the organisation. He assumed office on 3 December 2019. Since 2022, Grossi had been in the spotlight to obtain information on nuclear materials from Iran to re-negotiate the JCPOA. In September 2022, he continued to express concerns about traces of uranium found at three Iranian nuclear sites. Grossi told a press conference in Vienna that he is "under political pressure". Iran has long denied that it seeks nuclear weapons for defense purposes.

Following the outcome of the Twelve-Day War, Iran's leadership spoke against him, some were even quoted saying he should be “arrested and executed”, and Ali Larijani, senior aide to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council posted on X (Twitter), “When the war ends, we are going to deal with Grossi”. On the other hand, he received support from Argentina and European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who posted on "X" (Twitter): “Full support to the IAEA and DG Grossi in his task to continue to monitor impartially Iran’s nuclear program. This will be key for a diplomatic settlement of the issue.” According to the Wall Street Journal, Grossi was receiving round-the-clock protection, provided by Austria’s EKO Cobra special services unit, after the country’s intelligence agency received information of a specific Iranian threat targeting him. On 17 March 2026, Grossi confirmed that a projectile struck the premises of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran. The incident occurred during ongoing U.S.–Israeli military strikes against Iranian infrastructure. While the IAEA reported no damage to the reactor or injuries to personnel, Grossi reiterated calls for maximum restraint to prevent a nuclear accident.

Amid the Iran-Israel conflict, Rafael Grossi stated in an interview that war could not entirely dismantle Iran's nuclear program, even if the country's primary facilities were severely damaged.

Candidacy for United Nations Secretary-General In 2025, Grossi publicly confirmed his interest in being a candidate in the 2026 United Nations Secretary-General selection after being nominated by Argentina.

Personal life Rafael Grossi has eight children.

Publications Penúltima alianza: el proceso de expansión de la OTAN y el nuevo mapa de la seguridad internacional. Buenos Aires: Grupo Editor Latinoamericano (1999). Kosovo, los límites del intervencionismo humanitario. Buenos Aires: Editorial Nuevohacer (2000).