WASHINGTON (AP) — The UN’s nuclear monitoring director, as a European leader, warned Wednesday that he is not yet satisfied with Iran’s cooperation with international inspectors. It seemed poised to reimpose Tehran’s sanctions A series of last-minute meetings failed to reach a diplomatic resolution in the nuclear program.
It’s been the first time since, despite Iran allowing inspectors 12 Days of Iran-Israel War in JuneRegaining access to important nuclear facilities is still a “work in progress”, Rafael Grossi, International Atomic Energy Agencytold The Associated Press.
“We can say it’s important for the inspector to come back,” Grossi said in an interview. “At the same time, we still need to be clear about a lot. We need to address all the important issues in terms of the testing that we have to carry out in Iran.”
Grossi, who is receiving special police protection following the threat he said “from the direction” in Iran, spoke with the Associated Press after meeting high-level officials in Washington this week. Secretary of State Marco Rubioalso spoke on Wednesday with his counterparts from Germany, France and the UK.
Rubio and Grossi discussed global nuclear safety and “IAEA’s efforts to carry out surveillance and verification activities, including Iran,” the State Department said in a brief read from the meeting.
Leaders of three European countries known as E3 have been meeting Iranian officials over the past few weeks, seeking solutions ahead of the deadline for threats reimposed this week’s sanctions. They warned that they would call The so-called “snapback mechanism” Iran’s nuclear deal in relation to a country considered a lack of Iran’s compliance among the 2015 nuclear deals.
Inspectors are back to Iran, but not full access
European concerns about Iran’s nuclear program Enriched uranium and close to weapon grade levels It had only grown since Tehran before the atomic site was bombed in the war Blocks all cooperation with the IAEA Following the conflict.
The US and E3 agreed to set up August 31st deadline for calling the snapback mechanism If Iran resumes negotiations with the US over its nuclear program, and UN inspectors have accessed the nuclear site and fails to meet some conditions, such as the fact that it will contain more than 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium.
Grossi said the breakthrough was that IAEA inspectors were allowed to return to Iran for the first time since Israel The US attacked Iran’s nuclear siteIncludes Bunker Buster Bomb.
“This is important given that the attacks began in the aftermath of the Israeli and US strike,” he told the Associated Press before a briefing with a reporter on Wednesday. “There were many voices in Iran defending the end of cooperation with the institution, and there were probably voices in the world claiming that the IAEA would never return and would lose this essential job that would be carried out on behalf of the international community.”
So far, Grossi said IAEA inspectors have returned to Iran’s Bucher nuclear power plant, but have not yet returned to other sites that include them. Targeted US strikes. He said there was no immediate plan to return to Iran – he last visited the country earlier this year – but he has continued to contact Iranian officials to investigate the logistics of IAEA access to all sites.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araguchi confirmed on Wednesday that he was at a facility monitoring the fuel exchange, according to a report by the state-run IRNA news agency. However, he reportedly warned that it did not represent an IAEA breakthrough visiting other sites.
Iran has long argued that its programme is peaceful, but it is the only nuclear-free armed state that enriches uranium at a very high level. The US, the IAEA and others say Iran had a nuclear weapons program until 2003.
We and European leaders call as sanction deadline
Rubio called on Wednesday with foreign ministers from Germany, France and the UK after three European countries met with Iranians last week.
“We have reiterated their commitment to ensuring that Iran will not develop or acquire nuclear weapons,” Tommy Piggott, a spokesman for the Associate Department’s Office, said in a statement.
The call follows Tuesday’s talks in Switzerland between E3 and Iranian representatives, “we ended without any final results,” a diplomat with knowledge of the meeting said. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity. Because they were not allowed to publicly speak about sensitive discussions.
Qasem Galibabadi, deputy foreign minister of Iran’s judiciary and international affairs, said after the meeting that Tehran “continues to be committed to diplomacy” and that it is “high time for European countries to make the right choice and give them time and space for diplomacy.”
Elite police force protects Grossi
Grossi, who is set to run for UN Secretary-General, is being protected by Austrian police Cobra forces following the threat from Iran’s “directions.”
“It’s very unfortunate that some people are threatening the lives of international civil servants, the head of international organizations,” Grossi told the Associated Press, adding, “We’ll continue working.”
Elite forces at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Interior are primarily dealing with counterterrorism activities, hostage rescue and response to mass shootings. He is also involved in personal protection and the protection of foreign Austrian representatives overseas. In Austria, Cobra operatives are known for protecting the president and prime minister, as well as the ambassadors of the US and Israel.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the additional security of Grossi, an Argentine diplomat who raised the IAEA profile on a trip to Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and the agency’s work on Iran.
Israel attacked Iran in June after the IAEA’s Governor’s Committee voted to condemn Iran for non-cooperation with the agency, the first such accusation in 20 years. Iran provided evidence to support Israel without providing evidence, and later accused the United States of airstrikes targeting nuclear sites.
Top Iranian officials and Iranian media have urged Grossi to be arrested and brought to trial if he returns to the country.
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Amiri reported Liechtenstein from Vienna from the United Nations. Associated Press writer John Gambrel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Amir Vardat of Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press is Carnegie Corporation in New York and Autorider Foundation. AP is solely responsible for all content. ___ Additional AP coverage for nuclear landscapes: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nucleul-landscape/
