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Grossi says UN watchdog seeks reengagement with Iran
Iranian, French FMs to discuss nuclear issue in Paris today
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wants to fully reengage with Iran to restore inspection activities in the country, Director General Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday.
His remarks came as relations between Iran and the IAEA are at its lowest point due to the agency’s measures against Iran in recent months.
Iran on Thursday canceled an agreement it signed with the IAEA in Cairo in September to resume cooperation which had been suspended following strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June.
Iran said the IAEA effectively provided cover for the strikes by declaring the country in violation of its non-proliferation obligations shortly before the bombardment and then failing to condemn the strikes.
Iran’s move to terminate the Cairo deal was in response to a resolution which was adopted by the IAEA Board of Governors on Thursday.
The resolution, put forward by the US, France, Britain and Germany, calls on Iran to fully and promptly cooperate with the agency, provide inspectors with detailed information on its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% purity, and grant access to its nuclear sites.
Following the resolution, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the move as “unlawful and unjustified,” saying that the three European countries and the US undermined the IAEA’s authority and independence and would disrupt Iran’s cooperation with the agency.
The Iranian foreign minister is now scheduled to meet with his French counterpart Jean Noel Barrot today in Paris to discuss Iran’s nuclear program and the case of Iranian citizen held in France.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the country’s nuclear program along with the case of Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari, as well as regional and international developments would be on agenda.
“This will be an opportunity for us to call on Iran to comply with its obligations towards the IAEA and for a swift resumption of cooperation with the agency,” Barrot said.
France alongside Germany and Britain triggered the return of UN sanctions against Iran in October, that had been lifted under a now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran’s nuclear program has been a source of contention with Western countries for more than two decades. While Iran insists that its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful and aimed at civilian purposes such as energy production and medical research, Western powers have long expressed concern that Tehran could be seeking the capability to develop nuclear weapons.