(Vienna) “No progress”: the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), returned the day before from Tehran, delivered an alarming report on Wednesday, while the escalation of the Iranian nuclear program and the restriction of inspections worry the international community.
A few days before the resumption scheduled for Monday in Vienna of negotiations to save the agreement supposed to prevent Iran from acquiring the atomic bomb, suspended since June, the atmosphere is very tense.
“The discussions were constructive, but we could not reach an agreement despite my best efforts,” Rafael Grossi told reporters on the first day of an IAEA Board of Governors in the Austrian capital.
After weeks of “silence” which he described as “staggering”, he hoped to make progress on several areas of contention with Tehran. But “clearly, no, we have not been able to move forward,” he blurted out.
On the Iranian side, however, it is stressed that “the work will continue” after intense efforts until the last moment, according to the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization (OIEA). Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was even positive, referring to “the publication of a joint declaration as soon as possible”, according to comments reported by the official Irna agency.
“Incompatible”
The IAEA is concerned about the Iranian government’s restriction of inspections since February, which “seriously hinders” verification activities, according to a recent report.
Another outstanding issue: the situation of four undeclared sites, where nuclear material has been detected.
The treatment of IAEA inspectors is also the subject of concern, while several of them have been “subjected to excessively intrusive searches by security agents”, according to the authority.
Each country legally undertakes to “protect agents from any intimidation,” said the head of the IAEA. “But our Iranian colleagues”, citing security reasons, “have put in place a series of measures which are simply incompatible with this.”
“The subject has been discussed and I hope that such incidents will not happen again,” said Rafael Grossi.
Arrived Monday evening in Tehran, he had met the director of the OIEA, Mohammad Eslami, and the head of Iranian diplomacy.
“In view of the outcome of the consultations”, he preferred to cancel at the last minute the press briefing scheduled for Tuesday evening on his return to Vienna airport.
The European Union (EU) said it was “deeply concerned about these inconclusive discussions” in a statement to the Governing Council.
“Not with folded arms”
“We are approaching the point where I will no longer be able to guarantee the continuity of knowledge” on the Iranian nuclear program, warned the director general of the IAEA.
However, this is a key element of the international Iranian nuclear agreement, concluded in 2015 in Vienna, but dying following the withdrawal in 2018 of the United States.
After five months of suspension, indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington, through the other countries still parties to the agreement (Germany, China, France, United Kingdom, Russia), are to resume on Monday.
“Iran’s decision not to cooperate” with the IAEA “is a bad sign when it comes to their real willingness to negotiate to reach an agreement,” said a spokesman for American diplomacy. However, he felt that it was still possible to “quickly” save the 2015 agreement.
This text offered Tehran the lifting of some of the sanctions that are stifling its economy in exchange for a drastic reduction in its nuclear program, placed under strict UN control.
But the United States unilaterally left the pact under President Donald Trump and reinstated punitive measures.
In return, Iran has gradually abandoned its commitments and its stockpile of highly enriched uranium has increased significantly since the start of the year.
US envoy Rob Malley judged, according to excerpts from an interview with US public radio NPR published on Wednesday, that Iranian actions in recent months did not bode well for negotiations.
This fervent supporter of the 2015 agreement, which he helped negotiate, warns: “If they drag their feet at the negotiating table, while accelerating the pace with their nuclear program […], so, of course, we would not be ready to sit idly by ”.
“The options available to America are, you know, well known to all,” he added, again raising the threat of military action.