Iran inspections should not be ‘bargaining chip’: IAEA

VIENNA: The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog appealed on Monday for its inspection work in Iran not to become a "bargaining chip" as world powers mull negotiations to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

"The inspection work of the IAEA must be preserved... (it) should not be put in the middle of a negotiating table as a bargaining chip," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi told a press conference at the start of the agency’s quarterly meeting of its board of governors.

On February 23, Iran suspended some IAEA inspections in response to the US refusal so far to lift sanctions imposed by former president Donald Trump. Grossi described the suspension of those inspections as a "huge loss", but when asked if the agency could still reassure the international community that the Iranian nuclear programme was exclusively peaceful, he replied: "So far, so good."

Grossi said the IAEA would continue to have the means to verify the amount of uranium enriched by Iran. On February 21 Grossi announced after two days of talks with Iranian officials in Tehran that Iran and the IAEA had struck an interim three-month deal to mitigate the impact of the suspended inspections.

Recordings from monitoring equipment the IAEA installed at Iran’s nuclear sites will be kept by Iran for three months and provided to the IAEA if US sanctions are lifted. European states are considering putting forward a resolution at this week’s meeting condemning Iran’s decision to suspend some inspections.

Iran has said that the introduction of such a resolution would push it to abandon the temporary agreement with the IAEA. Grossi refused to be drawn on the utility of a critical resolution.

"My appeal to all is to have constructive discussions and to preserve the work of the agency," Grossi said.Meanwhile, three European members of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal will put forward a resolution condemning Iran’s suspension of some inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog, diplomatic sources said on Monday.

France, Germany and the UK will propose it during this week’s meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors, a delicate moment for diplomacy on the Iranian nuclear issue. US President Joe Biden has said he is willing to bring the United States back to the landmark 2015 deal between Tehran and major powers on its nuclear programme. It has been unravelling since Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2018.But the proposed resolution could derail the temporary agreement that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi hammered out with Iran to mitigate what he calls the "huge loss" of some IAEA inspections.

A document circulated by the Iranian mission in Vienna and seen by AFP said the introduction of a critical resolution would effectively end the temporary agreement with the IAEA.Under that three-month arrangement, which went into force on February 23, Iran has pledged to keep recordings "of some activities and monitoring equipment" and hand them over to the IAEA as and when US sanctions are lifted.Sources say the European resolution is expected to come to a vote on Friday and is backed by the United States.