Iran has agreed to sit down with international technical experts investigating the discovery of uranium particles at three former undeclared sites in the country, the head of the UN atomic organ said on Thursday, after months of frustration at the lack of reliable explanation from Tehran.
The deal came when three of the remaining signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran – France, Germany and Britain – supported the idea of a resolution criticizing Iran for its decision to start limiting access by inspectors from the International Energy Agency Atomic to current installations.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi told reporters in Vienna that it was not for him to say whether Iran’s decision to hold talks with its technical experts was linked to the decision of the so-called E3 group, but suggested that it was difficult to separate the side political side of Iran’s nuclear program from the technical side.
“It is obvious to everyone that all of these issues need to be resolved, and when it comes to Iran – and I am not saying anything that Iran itself has not said – everything is interconnected, of course,” he said.
“These are different parts of a single whole.”
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E3 launched the idea of the resolution after Iran started restricting international inspections last week. After a last-minute trip to Tehran by Grossi, however, some access has been preserved.
Russia and China – the other members of the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan – opposed the resolution, saying it could further antagonize Iran.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry told the Associated Press that it is common to “discuss all possible options for action” before such meetings and that, despite abandoning the resolution, E3 still has concerns about Iran’s “serious violations” of nuclear agreement.
“Above all, we would like to support the Director-General of the IAEA in his efforts to initiate talks with Iran on open safeguards issues,” the ministry said.
Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, tweeted after the decision that “wisdom prevails” and that E3 has avoided unnecessary tensions.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs applauded the move.
“Today’s development can keep the path of diplomacy opened by Iran and the IAEA, and pave the way for the full implementation of the commitments by all parties to the nuclear agreement,” said spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.
The nuclear deal promised Iran economic incentives in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program. President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the U.S. out of the deal in 2018, saying it needed to be renegotiated.
Since then, Iran has been slowly violating restrictions to try to pressure the remaining nations to increase incentives to offset new US sanctions that damage the economy.
Before the decision to start limiting the IAEA’s access, it had already started enriching more uranium than allowed and with greater purity than allowed, among other things.
United States President Joe Biden said he is ready to enter into negotiations with Iran and world powers to discuss a return to the deal, but violations complicate matters, and over the weekend Iran declined an offer from the European Union. to host joint negotiations.