The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said negotiations between Iran and the United States at a “very critical” stage
Comments by Rafael Mariano Grossi of the Tehran International Atomic Energy Agency include confirmation that his agency may be key to verifying Iran’s compliance if an agreement is reached. Iran and the United States will hold new talks in Rome on Saturday after the first meeting in Oman last weekend.
Grossi’s visit also visited Tehran with Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, the kingdom’s highest official came to visit Iran as the two countries arrived in 2023 with China-mediated Detent.
The bets for Saturday’s negotiations and the wider geopolitical tensions in the Middle East will never be higher, especially with the turmoil of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to release air strikes against Iran’s nuclear program if no deal was reached. Iranian officials are increasingly warning that they can use uranium to store to near-weapon-level levels in pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Grossi’s visit in “critical” Iran-US talk Grossi arrived in Iran on Wednesday night and met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who now holds separate negotiations on negotiations in Moscow. Grossi met with Mohammad Eslami, head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, on Thursday and later visited a hall that included some Iranian civilian nuclear projects.
“We know, what I’m going to say is the stage of this important negotiation, so I want to focus on the positive ones,” Grossi told the Iranian media. “There is a possibility of good results. There is no guarantee. We need to make sure we put all the elements in place … to reach this agreement.” He added, “We know we don’t have much time. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I’m also engaged with the United States.” When asked about the threat of Trump’s attack on Iran, Grossi urged people to “focus on our goals.”
“Once we reach our goal, all these things evaporate because there is no reason to pay attention,” he said.
Eslami said Iran said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would “maintain impartiality and action”, a report from the country’s national IRNA news agency said.
Since the nuclear deal collapsed in 2018 with the collapse of Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the United States, Iran has abandoned all restrictions on its plan and enriched uranium to a maximum of 60% purity – close to 90% weapon-grade levels.
The surveillance cameras installed by the IAEA have been interrupted, while Iran has banned some of the most experienced inspectors in the Vienna-based agency. Iranian officials are also increasingly threatening to pursue atomic weapons, something the West and the International Atomic Energy Agency has been worried about since abandoning its organized weapons program in 2003.
Despite tensions between Iran and the agency, its access has not been completely revoked.
