Iran may allow US inspectors of IAEA if deal reached: Eslami
UN nuclear chief lauds continuation of talks as ‘good sign’
Iran's nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said Wednesday that Tehran may reconsider allowing American inspectors through the United Nations nuclear watchdog if a deal is reached with the United States.
"Countries that were hostile to us and behaved unprincipledly over the years – we have always tried not to accept inspectors from those countries," Eslami told reporters, adding that Iran "will reconsider accepting American inspectors through the agency" if an agreement is reached and Tehran's demands are taken into account.
According to the terms of an existing agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran can approve a list of monitors to receive visas and inspect the country’s nuclear sites.
Iran’s caution increased after a series of sabotage attacks on its nuclear facilities, most of which is blamed on Israel.
Iranian and US negotiators said Friday they made modest progress in the latest round of indirect talks aimed at ending a standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program and Washington’s economic sanctions on the oil-rich Persian Gulf state.
Tehran and Washington are expected to hold a sixth round of talks, with US President Donald Trump predicting "good news."
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Wednesday that "consultations are ongoing regarding the time and location of the next round of talks, and once finalized, they will be announced by Oman."
Uranium enrichment
In recent weeks, the two countries have clashed over the issue of uranium enrichment in Iran, which Washington says must be brought to zero. Tehran maintains its nuclear program is exclusively for civilian purposes and views its enrichment industry as a red line.
"Enrichment is the foundation and pillar of the country's nuclear industry. Suppose someone is allowed to have an electricity substation and network, but not allowed to establish a power plant," Eslami said.
"The enrichment percentage depends on the type of use. When highly enriched uranium is produced, it does not necessarily mean military use," he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Baqaei said, "The continuation of enrichment in Iran is an inseparable part of the country's nuclear industry and a fundamental principle for the Islamic Republic of Iran."
"Any proposal or initiative that contradicts this principle or undermines this right is unacceptable."
Negotiations in right direction
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that there is hope that Iran and the US will make progress in nuclear negotiations and the process is moving in the right direction.
“There is hope that progress will be achieved and that everything is moving in the right direction,” Lavrov told an international security conference in Moscow on Wednesday.
"The right to enrichment in the framework of peaceful use of nuclear energy programs is key [in the negotiations between Iran and the United States]”, he said.
The head of the United Nations’ atomic watchdog Rafael Mariano Grossi said Wednesday that “the jury is still out” on the negotiations, but described the continuing negotiations as a good sign.
He made the comment to journalists attending a weeklong seminar at the agency in Vienna.