Iran says 'limited' chance exists for diplomacy

There is a chance to resolve the issue of Iran's nuclear program through diplomacy, but it is “limited”said the head of Iranian diplomacy on Saturday.

“There is still a chance for diplomacy, even if this chance is not very great, there is a limited chance”Abbas Araghchi said on state television, after the visit to Iran by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi. Rafael Grossi visited two important nuclear sites in Iran on Friday, at a time when Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian says he wants to lift “doubts and ambiguities” on the Tehran program.

The trip by the head of the UN nuclear agency is seen as one of the last chances for diplomacy before Donald Trump returns to the White House in January. The Iranian nuclear issue “the coming year will be delicate and complicated, but we are ready to face all scenarios”added the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“Maximum pressure” policy

Donald Trump was during his first term (2017-2021) the architect of a so-called policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran and reinstated heavy sanctions, which the Biden administration has maintained. In 2018, Mr. Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal concluded between Iran and the major powers three years earlier.

The text provided for a reduction in international sanctions, in exchange for guarantees that Iran does not seek to acquire atomic weapons. Tehran denies having such ambitions on a military level and defends a right to nuclear power for civilian purposes, particularly for energy. In retaliation for the United States' withdrawal from the deal, Iran 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 agreement capped this rate at 3.67%. The IAEA chief's trip comes ahead of a possible critical resolution from London, Berlin and Paris at the UN agency's Board of Governors this month. “If a resolution is passed against us, Iran will take reciprocal action and we will take further action that they will certainly not like for our nuclear program”a mis en garde samedi Abbas Araghchi.