The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, visiting Tehran this Saturday, said that “important agreements” could be found.
MO12345lemonde with AFP
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA), Rafael Grossi, praised “constructive discussions” with Iran on Saturday, March 4, hoping that they open the way to ” important agreements “on the nuclear file. “Discussions continue in an atmosphere of work, franchise and cooperation,” said Grosi, during a press conference held at midday.
At the end of the other meetings scheduled for Saturday, “I will have a better judgment” on the results of the discussions, he added during a press conference with Mohammad Eslami, the Director of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization (OIEA). After Mr. Aslemi, Mr. Grossi met at midday the Iranian diplomacy chief Hossein Amir Abdollahian, who recently said that “the window” to relaunch the Iranian nuclear agreement was “open” but that She would not always remain “.
A possible meeting of Mr. Grossi with the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raïssi, was mentioned, but she was not confirmed in Tehran. M. Grossi was to take stock of his visit during a press conference on his return to Vienna at the end of the day. 2> a moribund agreement since 2018
During this press conference, the head of the IAEA did not specify what could be these advances, but the declared objective of this visit was to “relaunch the dialogue” with a view to a possible resumption of the Negotiations on the agreement concluded in 2015 in Vienna between Tehran and the major powers to limit Iran’s nuclear activities, in exchange for lifting international sanctions against the country.
This agreement (in English joined understanding plan of action, JCPOA) has been moribund since the withdrawal of the United States decided in 2018 by President Donald Trump and since the Islamic Republic has gradually freed his commitments.
After his meeting with Mr. Grosi, Mr. Eslami assured that the Iranian authorities were going to “continue to work” with the IAEA, while calling the other parties, in particular the three European countries (Germany, France and Kingdom- Uni) to “respect their obligations” within the framework of the JCPOA.
Western worries
m. Grossi must then present the results during a council of governors of the AIEA, scheduled for next week. According to the advances obtained, Washington, London, Berlin and Paris will decide whether or not to submit a proposal for a resolution blaming Tehran for the recent developments in his nuclear program.
Their concerns were recently reinforced by a confidential report of the IAEA, according to which uranium particles enriched at 83.7 %, or just the 90 % necessary to produce an atomic bomb, were recently detected In the Fordo underground factory, a hundred kilometers south of the capital, Tehran.
m. Grosi did not specify if he had obtained reinforced access to the Fordo site and an increase in the number of inspections of the IAEA allowed by the Iranian government.
“Involuntary fluctuations” for Tehran
Iran, which denies wanting to acquire nuclear weapons, justified itself by pretending “involuntary fluctuations” during the enrichment process and ensuring “not having attempted to enrich Beyond 60 % “, as Mr. Eslami repeated on Saturday. France nevertheless judged Thursday that it was “an unprecedented and extremely serious development”.
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Finally, the head of the IAEA added that the discussions were continuing to resolve the dispute with Tehran concerning the discovery last year of traces of uranium enriched on three unsuccessful sites. Iran had been the subject of a reminder to order at the last AIAA meeting in November 2022, for its lack of cooperation on this issue.
Furthermore, Westerners are worried about the fact that Iran enriches at ever higher levels, far from the limit set by the agreement at 3.67 %: it thus has 434.7 kilos of Uranium at 20 % (against 386.4 kilos previously) and 87.5 kilos to 60 % (against 62.3 kilos).