The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, is expected in Iran on Wednesday for crucial discussions on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
“The room for maneuver is starting to shrink”warned Mr. Grossi on Tuesday in an interview with Agence France-Presse, adding that he was “imperative to find ways to achieve diplomatic solutions”.
His visit comes two days after statements by Israel’s new defense minister, who warned that Tehran was “more exposed than ever to strikes on its nuclear installations”. Israel has for years accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, which Tehran has always denied.
The IAEA is authorized to carry out inspections in Iran, Grossi said, “but we need to see more.” Given the breadth, depth and ambition of the Iranian program, we must find ways to give the agency more visibility.”he added.
Mr. Grossi’s visit also comes a week after the victory in the American presidential election of Donald Trump, architect of a so-called policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran during his first term (2017-2021). Mr. Trump assured last week that he was not seeking to harm Iran and, on the contrary, wanted the Iranians to have “a very prosperous country”while insisting that Tehran could not “not have a nuclear weapon”.
In 2015, Iran and the great powers including the United States concluded an agreement in Vienna, after twenty-one months of negotiations. The text provided for a reduction in international sanctions targeting Tehran in exchange for guarantees that it does not seek to acquire atomic weapons.
But Mr. Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from the agreement in 2018 and reinstated sanctions against Iran. Since then, Iran has significantly increased its reserves of enriched materials to 60%, close to the 90% needed to develop an atomic weapon, according to the IAEA. The nuclear deal capped this rate at 3.65%.
In a statement, the IAEA explained that Mr. Grossi would have “high-level meetings with the Iranian government” and would lead “technical discussions on all aspects”. Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, who wants sanctions relief against his country to revive the economy, is in favor of new negotiations to revive the agreement.
