The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said he held “constructive” talks with Iranian representatives during his visit to Tehran. There was an atmosphere of “honesty and cooperation”. He is sure that the visit will pave the way for “important agreements” in the nuclear dispute, Grossi said at a joint press conference with the head of Iran’s nuclear agency, Mohammed Eslami.
He said the Iranian authorities “continue to work” with the IAEA. He urged signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal to fulfill their “obligations,” citing Germany, France and the UK.
Almost weapon-grade purity
Most recently, an IAEA report had increased Western concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. Accordingly, inspectors from the authority had found uranium particles with an almost weapons-grade purity in an underground Iranian nuclear facility near the city of Fordo. According to the IAEA, the particles were enriched to almost 84 percent. Uranium enriched to around 90 percent is required to build atomic bombs.
The United States and Israel have repeatedly expressed fears that Iran could develop a nuclear weapon. The Islamic Republic denies this and, with regard to the traces found, speaks of “unintentional fluctuations”. So far, Tehran has “made no attempt to enrich to more than 60 percent,” the spokesman for the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency was quoted as saying in the state media.
Monitoring repeatedly hampered
However, the IAEA is also waiting for further conclusive explanations after radioactive residues of unknown origin were detected in three locations in the country. According to Western diplomats, Grossi, who met Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian, among others, is negotiating more intensive inspections by his agency in nuclear facilities. Iran had repeatedly obstructed surveillance and had installed devices such as cameras switched off.
A threshold of 3.67 percent for uranium enrichment was agreed in the international nuclear agreement with Tehran in 2015. The agreement is currently on hold; the negotiations about a revival, which began almost two years ago, are stuck. It was negotiated by the USA, China, Russia, Germany, France, Great Britain and Iran. Under then US President Donald Trump, Washington unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and imposed new sanctions on Tehran. As a result, Iran gradually withdrew from its commitments.
jj/sti (dpa, afp)