Future negotiations will determine how much Iran will give to the IAEA: Grossi
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Alaina
- . March 7, 2023
- . Update: March 7, 2023 7:50 pm
Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN’s nuclear inspector, acknowledged on Monday that Iran’s concessions to him during his visit to Tehran over the weekend will mostly depend on future discussions. He also took back certain remarks he had made after his return.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran announced they had reached an agreement to advance a number of issues, including a long-stalled IAEA investigation into uranium particles discovered at three unreported sites in Iran, two days before a quarterly meeting of the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors.
According to Grossi, they had agreed to re-install all additional monitoring tools, such as security cameras, that had been installed at nuclear sites as part of Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement with major nations but had been taken down last year as the agreement fell apart.
At a news conference on Monday, Grossi said, “We will have to discuss…this, how do we do it. ” He acknowledged that future technical discussions will have a major impact on this and other concerns.
“We have our own opinions, and this will be covered in the technical conversations that will be held in the wake of my visit and the joint declaration. And to do so, a technical team will be going to Iran very soon,” he continued.
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An attempt by the West to pass another resolution similar to the one that was adopted at the most recent quarterly board meeting ordering Iran to cooperate with the investigation appears to have been defeated by the announcement of apparent progress in a joint statement released on Saturday that provided few details.
The Islamic Republic typically rebels against such decisions and has previously retaliated by stepping up the nuclear operations that the 2015 agreement was intended to curtail.
“Why don’t you allow us to do what we do? Unless you want to come work with us as an inspector, which may be fun. When asked how much Iran had firmly committed to and how much depended on future negotiations,” Grossi responded, “We know how to accomplish these things.”
“I think this is a great opportunity. Of course, I cannot promise. When people claim that these were (only) pledges, let’s start by saying that they aren’t. There are certain actual agreements that we do have. I must perform my work and never give up at the same time.”
