On the eve of Iran’s deadline for the lifting of sanctions by the United States, Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrived in Tehran, the capital of Iran, on the evening of the 20th, and formally met with Iranian officials on the 21st.
Iran said on the 21st that it had a “productive dialogue” with Grosi.
According to AFP on the 21st, that day is the deadline for Iran to ask US President Biden to lift former President Trump’s sanctions against Iran.
If the United States does not lift the sanctions, Iran will suspend the implementation of the Additional Protocol to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, including no longer allowing the IAEA to conduct surprise inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Grossi said he would meet with senior Iranian officials to find a solution that is “in accordance with Iranian law and acceptable to both sides” so that the IAEA can continue to carry out the necessary nuclear facility inspections in Iran.” It is in the interest of all parties to look forward to success.
Grossi tweeted. According to the report, Grossi will meet with Iranian President Rouhani, Foreign Minister Zarif and Ali Akbar Salehi, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran on the 21st.
According to the Iranian English TV station Press TV on the 21st, Kazim Garibadi, Iran’s Permanent Representative to the IAEA, tweeted on the same day: “Iran and the IAEA have had a fruitful dialogue based on mutual respect.” According to the report, after Grosey returned to Vienna that night, he would hold a press conference to report the results of the talks.
According to AFP, Iran has informed the IAEA that according to the bill passed by the Iranian Parliament last December, if the United States does not lift the sanctions imposed on Iran imposed by the Trump administration in 2018, Iran will stop implementing “voluntary transparency measures” from February 23, except that United Nations agencies will no longer allow “unannounce inspection” of the nuclear installation.
In addition, inspections of “non-nuclear sites”, including military sites suspected of nuclear activities, will no longer be allowed.
According to the Associated Press on the 21st, during Grossi’s visit to Tehran, Press TV broadcast an interview with Zarif.
Iran plans to shut down surveillance cameras set up by the IAEA at the location of the Iranian nuclear facility, Zarif said.
This is not a deadline or ultimatum for the rest of the world, but an interaction between the Iranian government and the legislature. We should implement the laws of the country.
Whether we like it or not, Parliament has passed legislation. Zarif stressed that the suspension of the IAEA raid inspection did not violate the Iran nuclear agreement. Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has previously made it clear that it will not stop cooperating with the IAEA and will not expel its inspectors.
If the parties involved in the Iran nuclear agreement fulfill their commitments, the measures taken by Iran will be reversible.
Reuters said that the European Union recently proposed to hold informal talks between the participants in the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue to push the United States and Iran back on track of the agreement.
Iran is considering the proposal of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Boreli, and is consulting with partners and will respond in due course, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Aragshi said in an interview with Iranian state television on the 20th.
However, we believe that the U.S. nuclear agreement to return to Iran does not need to be reached through talks. The only way is to lift sanctions.
The Iranian government expressed “confidence” in the lifting of sanctions by the United States. Ali Rabbié, spokesman of the Iranian government, said on the 20th that despite the continuous “diplomatic struggle” on the resumption of the Iran nuclear agreement, Iran believes that the United States will lift sanctions against Iran.
According to Reuters on the 20th, the IAEA found traces of undeclared uranium in two abandoned nuclear facilities in Iran for nearly 20 years in a surprise inspection last year. The investigation results may complicate the issue of the U.S. nuclear agreement to return to Iran.
Sources revealed that traces of uranium found were not enriched uranium, but their existence indicated undisclosed nuclear material or activities, and Iran must declare the relevant information. In response, a senior Iranian official said: “We have nothing to hide. That’s why we allow inspectors to visit those facilities.”
Israel, which has always opposed the Iran nuclear agreement, criticized the findings of the IAEA as proof that Iran has not effectively complied with the nuclear agreement.
According to the Israeli Times on the 20th, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that the return to the Iran nuclear agreement would “pave the way for Iran to become a nuclear arsenal”. Israel remains committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Israel is in close contact with the United States on this matter.
Zarif criticized Israel’s allegations that Iran made nuclear weapons on the one hand for its “nonsense” and the West of ignorsing Israel’s expansion of nuclear facilities.
According to a report by Iran’s Tasnim News Agency on the 21st, satellite images recently released by the International Fissile Materials Expert Group (IPFM) show that Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility is building “important new buildings”. IPFM is an independent group of arms control and non-proliferation experts from various countries.
According to the report, Israel may have 90 nuclear warheads, but it neither recognizes nor denies that it possesses nuclear weapons. Zarif tweeted on the 20th that Biden, the IAEA, British Prime Minister Johnson, French President Macron and German Chancellor Merkel: Why don’t you express “grave concern”?
