IAEA chief notes “significant progress” in talks while in Iran

March 5, 2023 - 21:10

TEHRAN- IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has praised his most recent trip to Iran as significant, noting that a clear agreement was achieved about the continuation of cooperation on resolving safeguards-related issues.

Grossi held a press conference in Vienna on Saturday after finishing a two-day visit to Iran.

During his tour of Tehran, he met with important Iranian figures, including President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and Mohammad Eslami of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).

A general framework for progress has been reached and alluded to the joint statement released by the UN nuclear watchdog and the AEOI, Grossi stated. 

When asked about political accusations regarding the safeguards issues, he responded that trivial technical issues were not brought up in discussions with senior Iranian authorities. 

He added that “what is discussed is the level of cooperation, and that it is now time to reach a tangible result.”

Grossi responded to another inquiry about Iran enriching uranium to 60% purity by saying that the Islamic Republic is not required to discuss this to the IAEA.

The IAEA chief stated that the outcomes of his discussions with Iranian officials on Friday and Saturday were “satisfactory”.

Additionally, he said that technical meetings will soon be held in Tehran to address safeguards-related issues, giving no additional information regarding the planned meetings’ agenda.

Grossi underlined that the current situation is what is essential to him, referring to the protracted effort to settle the safeguarding concerns. 

“I feel that significant progress has been achieved in meetings with the Iranian government on the issues I mentioned,” he remarked.

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