close
Wednesday November 13, 2024

IAEA chief to arrive in Iran on Wednesday: state media

Iran has always denied having ambitions to develop nuclear weapon

By AFP
November 10, 2024
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi addresses news conference during an IAEA board of governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, March 6, 2023. — Reuters
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi addresses news conference during an IAEA board of governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, March 6, 2023. — Reuters 

TEHRAN: UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi will visit Iran next Wednesday and start consultations with Iranian officials the following day, state media reported on Sunday.

"The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency will arrive in Iran on Wednesday at the official invitation of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the official IRNA news agency reported.

Official meetings with Grossi in Iran will take place on Thursday, the agency added.

Grossi last visited Iran in May, when he called for "concrete" measures to help bolster cooperation on Iran's nuclear programme at a news conference in Isfahan province, home to the Natanz uranium enrichment plant.

His visit this month will come after Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.

During his first term in office, Trump unilaterally withdrew Washington from a pivotal nuclear deal that aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

Then-US President Donald Trump announces his intention to withdraw from JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement during a statement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, US, May 8, 2018. — Reuters
Then-US President Donald Trump announces his intention to withdraw from JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement during a statement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, US, May 8, 2018. — Reuters 

Efforts mediated by the European Union have failed to bring Washington back on board and to get Tehran to again comply with the terms of the accord.

Iran has since rolled back its commitments to caps on nuclear activities under the deal, and tensions have repeatedly flared between Tehran and the IAEA over its compliance.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office in July, has favoured reviving that agreement and called for ending his country's isolation.

On Tuesday, Trump told reporters he was "not looking to do damage to Iran" but noted that Iran "can't have a nuclear weapon".

Iran has always denied having ambitions to develop a nuclear weapon, insisting its activities are entirely peaceful.

On Saturday, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif urged Trump to reassess his "maximum pressure" policy which has seen the US impose punishing sanctions on Tehran.

He blamed that policy for leading to the surge in enrichment levels "to reach 60% from 3.5%".