• Ar
  • Es
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Feature
  • Videos
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Feature
Videos
Infographs
In Pictures
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. MENA
  4. IAEA chief to visit Tehran next month to restart talks
MENA

IAEA chief to visit Tehran next month to restart talks

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 24 Jan 21:11

The IAEA head says he hopes to "be making some progress" on restoring cooperation with Iran during his visit to Tehran.

  • IAEA
    Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, holds a press conference at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, on March 1, 2021 (Getty Images)

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Tuesday that he plans to head to Iran next month for "much-needed" talks with Tehran.

"I might be back in Tehran... in February, perhaps, for a much-needed political dialogue, or reestablishment thereof, with Iran," Grossi told lawmakers in the European Parliament. 

Regarding talks about restoring the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, formerly known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Grossi pointed to a "big, big impasse" on the matter, claiming that Iran's pullback from it -- including disconnecting 27 IAEA cameras monitoring its declared nuclear sites -- means that the IAEA was no longer effectively monitoring Tehran's nuclear program.

"I've been blind on this aspect for at least a year," he said.

Grossi said he hopes to "be making some progress" on restoring cooperation with Iran during his planned visit.

Speaking about Iran's recent atomic activities, Grossi said, "That trajectory is certainly not a good one," adding that Iran's growing stock of enriched uranium is of concern.

"They have amassed enough nuclear material for several nuclear weapons -- not one at this point," the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog claimed, listing 70 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity and 1,000 kilograms at 20%.

However, Grossi admitted that the big stockpile of enriched uranium "doesn't mean they have a nuclear weapon," noting that building an atomic bomb would require designing and testing.

"I'm not saying it is impossible. And I'm not saying we should be complacent," he concluded.

It is noteworthy that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian reiterated that "the window for negotiation that is open today will not remain open tomorrow if the United States and others do not stop the hypocrisy." 

But a video that surfaced on social media in December 2022 showed US President Joe Biden saying that the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran is "dead".

Last month, the advisor to the Iranian negotiating nuclear team Mohammad Marandi told RT that Iran could have made nuclear weapons a year ago had it wanted to possess nuclear weapons but refused to.

On December 10, Grossi said there is still hope for the resurrection of talks on the revival of the Iran nuclear deal.

Signed by Iran and the 5 + 1 group in 2015, the JCPOA placed significant restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for easing unlawful sanctions. However, then-US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018, claiming that it had failed to reduce the program and Iran's regional influence.

As a result, Iran ignored the restrictions imposed on its nuclear program and defied the sanctions that the US administrations have continued to impose since then.

With his assumption of the US presidency, Biden announced his intention to negotiate with Iran to return to the agreement. On-off talks to revive the JCPOA started in April 2021 throughout nine rounds in Vienna, the last of which was in August 2022, in addition to a tenth round in Doha in June. But the indirect talks between the US and Iran have stalled for several months with Iran facing Western-led riots.

Read more: UK reconsidering its stance on Iran nuclear deal: Reports

  • Tehran
  • IAEA
  • JCPOA
  • Rafael Grossi
  • Nuclear Deal
  • Iran

Trending Now

All
China urges US to make political decision regarding nuclear deal ASAP

China urges US to make political decision regarding nuclear deal ASAP

Most Read

Indonesian president Joko Widodo during an interview in Jakarta in 2016 (Reuters)

Widodo urges Indonesia to abandon Visa, MasterCard to be 'independent'

  • Asia
  • 16 Mar
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen listens to opening remarks before testifying before the Senate Finance Committee about the President's proposed budget request for the fiscal year 2024, Thursday, March 16, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP)

US Debt ceiling ‘must be raised’ ahead of default: Treasury Secretary

  • US & Canada
  • 16 Mar
Rallies held in Washington DC to protest US militarism

Peace rallies held in Washington DC to protest US militarism

  • US & Canada
  • 18 Mar
Poland

Poland may end up 'joining' Ukraine war: Polish Ambassador to France

  • Europe
  • 20 Mar

Read this

All
In this picture released by an official website of the office of the Iranian leader, Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei makes a public address at the northeastern city of Mashhad, Iran, March 21, 2023 (Office of the Iranian leader via AP)
Asia

US sparked Ukraine war to expand NATO: Iranian leader Sayyed Khamenei

  • Today
Iraqi Army M1A1 Abrams tanks, purchased from the US, maneuver during a live fire exercise outside Baghdad, Iraq, October 18, 2011 (AP)
Europe

US expediting delivery of M1A1 Abrams tanks, Patriot system to Ukraine

  • 21 Mar
A general view of the illegal Israeli settlement of 'Efrat' in the occupied West Bank, occupied Palestine, January 30, 2023 (AP)
Palestine

'Israel' repeals law that sanctioned four West Bank settlements

  • 21 Mar
Russia, China sign joint statement on deepening strategic partnership
Europe

Russia, China sign joint statement on deepening strategic partnership

  • 21 Mar
Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS