Araghchi meets IAEA chief in Tehran for nuclear talks

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Websites
16 Apr 2025 21:26

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi holds talks with IAEA Director Rafael Grossi in Tehran to discuss nuclear cooperation and monitoring activities.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks in a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, in Tehran, Iran, on February 25, 2025 (AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi in Tehran, Iranian state news agency SNN reported on Wednesday.

Grossi arrived in the Iranian capital earlier in the day. His visit focuses on discussions surrounding nuclear cooperation between Iran and the IAEA, particularly the agency’s monitoring and verification activities at the country’s nuclear facilities.

The meeting underscores ongoing efforts to maintain transparency and engagement between Iran and the international nuclear watchdog.

Araghchi reiterated Wednesday that uranium enrichment remains a core part of Iran’s nuclear program and is a "non-negotiable," responding to US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s recent demand that Tehran halt enrichment efforts.

"Iran's enrichment is a real, accepted matter. We are ready to build confidence in response to possible concerns, but the issue of enrichment is non-negotiable," Araghchi told reporters following a cabinet meeting.

His comments came ahead of a follow-up meeting with Witkoff in Oman, their second round of talks in a week and the highest-level engagement between the two countries since Trump exited the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sweeping sanctions on Tehran.

While both sides described their previous talks as "constructive," tensions escalated after Witkoff said Tuesday that Iran must “stop and eliminate” uranium enrichment, a shift from his earlier position, which only demanded Iran return to the 3.67% enrichment cap outlined in the original nuclear accord.

Iran-US talks focused solely on nuclear issue, sanction relief: Tehran

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated on Monday that the negotiations were strictly limited to the nuclear issue and the lifting of unjust sanctions on Iran, shortly after the first round of US-Iran negotiations on Saturday.

"There are contradictory positions expressed by several American officials, and they must resolve this inconsistency themselves," he stated, while emphasizing, "Our primary demand is the lifting of unjust sanctions," during his weekly press conference.

Baghaei responded to the contradictory statements from US officials regarding the indirect negotiations, stressing: "You cannot claim to negotiate while simultaneously applying pressure and threats—this is unacceptable."

"In these discussions, the concerned parties present their frameworks and initial positions. Our nuclear program is entirely peaceful—a fact confirmed by the IAEA—and there is no reason to deviate from our peaceful nature," he added.