Grossi reports to Board of Governors on cooperation with Iran
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International Atomic Energy Organization Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi presents his report on his visit to Iran before the Board of Governors in Vienna and welcomes Tehran's willingness to carry out more cooperation activities with the agency.
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International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Grossi, addresses a news conference during an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023 (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)
Al Mayadeen correspondent to Vienna reported on Monday that the International Atomic Energy Organization Director General Rafael Grossi presented his report on his visit to Iran and meeting with its officials before the Board of Governors.
In his report, Grossi said that Iran has agreed, after discussions, "to allow the agency to proceed with further monitoring and verification measures indispensable to the Agency fulfilling its mission."
Grossi described Iran's decision to allow the IAEA to proceed with inspections as "very important," as "it would allow the agency to begin to establish a new baseline necessary in the event of a resumption of Iran’s implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA."
Answering a question by Al Mayadeen, Grossi said the implementation of the understanding between Iran and the IAEA may lead to the resumption of nuclear talks.
Read: Iran, IAEA to resume nuclear cooperation
The Director General of the International Energy Agency welcomed Iran's high-level assurances that it is ready to carry out further appropriate verification and monitoring activities and to cooperate with the agency to resolve outstanding safeguards issues, including those related to the three undeclared sites where the agency found traces of uranium particles.
Grossi said he now looks forward to pursuing technical discussions and the immediate and full implementation of Iran's assurances, noting that technical discussions have begun between Iran and the IAEA to clarify the issue of the highly enriched uranium (84%) particles found at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP).
Ulyanov expects IAEA BoG not to politicize JCPOA
In the context, Russia's permanent envoy to international organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov confirmed to Al Mayadeen that his country "encourages good relations between Iran and the IAEA."
He expressed hope that the IAEA Board of Governors will refrain from unjustifiable politicization of the Iran nuclear deal in Monday's session.
"I hope that the forthcoming session of the #IAEA Board of Governors will refrain from unjustifiable politicization of the Iranian file and will demonstrate a responsible approach to this issue. The attempts to arrange heated debates on this topic, including 84% enrichment, failed," Ulyanov wrote in a tweet on Monday.
This comes after the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi provided clarifications regarding the results of the talks that took place with Grossi during his visit to Tehran.
Kamalvandi responded to some news about the agreement with the agency to access three alleged sites based on the agency's request, saying that there was no discussion about the volume of access to the three proposed places. He noted that "the agency has not submitted such a request yet."
The IAEA Director General arrived in Tehran in early March to discuss Iran's nuclear program. During the visit, Grossi met with Iran's top nuclear official Mohammad Eslami, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
A joint statement issued by the AEOI and the IAEA Saturday evening following Raisi and Grossi's meeting indicated that the talks focused on "the importance of taking steps for broader cooperation in order to expedite the resolution of remaining safeguards issues in an appropriate manner. "
Read: Iran rules out enrichment above 60%: AEOI Head
The statement added that Iran would allow further "verification and monitoring activities by IAEA inspectors," stressing that Iran and the agency had reached an agreement "to continue cooperation, taking into consideration Tehran's rights, on the basis of comprehensive safeguards agreements."
Iran announced, according to the statement, its readiness to "resolve the outstanding technical issues regarding the three facilities" Natanz, Fordow, and Arak. The statement indicated that both sides believed that "these positive interactions could pave the way for broader agreements between member states."
According to the statement, Iran will voluntarily allow the agency "to increase monitoring and investigation procedures, and an agreement will occur soon in a meeting in Tehran on how to implement them."
