As efforts to resurrect the country’s nuclear accord fail, the director of the UN’s nuclear watchdog announced on Monday that he had met with the head of Iran’s atomic energy organization.
Since then-President Donald Trump ordered the United States to withdraw from it in 2018, efforts to salvage a 2015 agreement that offered a lifting of international sanctions in exchange for a severe restriction on Iran’s nuclear program have floundered.
The United States reimposed harsh sanctions, forcing Tehran to back out of its nuclear agreements, significantly increase its stock of enriched uranium, and disable the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) monitoring equipment.
But after months of conflict, the parties finally met in person in Vienna. Rafael Grossi tweeted on Monday that “discussion with Iran has resumed on clarification of unresolved safeguards issues.”
In addition to posting a photo of the two men shaking hands, he claimed to have met vice president Mohammad Eslami outside of the IAEA’s annual meeting.
The UN watchdog has been urging Iran to provide information regarding the presence of nuclear material at three unreported sites, and this major issue caused the IAEA’s board of governors to pass a resolution criticizing Iran in June.
Iran has stated repeatedly that it wants the IAEA to stop looking into the three sites, but the nuclear watchdog argues this position lacks credibility.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi restated his nation’s long-standing claim that it is not attempting to develop a nuclear weapon in an address to the UN General Assembly last week, and he wanted US guarantees that it will abide by any resurrected nuclear deal.
Mahnur is MS(development Studies)Student at NUST University, completed BS Hons in Eng Literature. Content Writer, Policy analyst, Climate Change specialist, Teacher, HR Recruiter.
