UN nuclear chief visits Iran as Middle East wars and Trump return raise concerns

DUBAI – The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned Thursday that “the space for negotiation and diplomacy … is shrinking” because of Iran’s advancing nuclear program. fierce war in the Middle East in the position of president Donald Trump will be back to the White House.

The IAEA’s Rafael Mariano Grossi visited Tehran in an attempt to restore access for its inspectors to Iran’s program and answer questions that still remain unresolved, as had been the case on previous trips with limited success since Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the nuclear agreement of the Islamic Republic with world powers.

But remarks by both Grossi and his Iranian counterpart at the press conference showed that significant gaps still exist, even as some countries push for action against Iran at an upcoming IAEA Governing Council meeting.

“We know that at this point we need to have concrete, tangible and visible results that show that this work together is improving (the situation), bringing clarity to things and generally moving us away from conflict and ultimately war.” – said Grossi.

After the deal was torn up in 2018, Iran abandoned all restrictions on its program and is enriching uranium to 60 percent purity — about 90 percent for weapons.

Surveillance cameras installed by the IAEA have been disrupted and Iran has blocked some of them The most experienced inspectors of the agency in Vienna. Iranian officials have also increasingly threatened that they may pursue nuclear weapons, something the West and the IAEA have worried about for years after Tehran abandoned an organized weapons program in 2003.

Speaking at a news conference with Mohammad Eslami of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Grossi stressed that while the IAEA and Iran were continuing negotiations, time was not necessarily on their side.

“The fact that there are international tensions and regional tensions is an indication that the space for negotiation and diplomacy is not getting bigger, it’s getting smaller,” Grossi said.

Before appearing with Eslami, Grossi met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who later wrote on social media platform X that “differences can be resolved through cooperation and dialogue.” However, he warned that Tehran is “NOT ready to negotiate under pressure and intimidation.”

Some politicians have even suggested that Iran abandon the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, known as the NPT, and pursue the bomb. Araghchi described Iran as a “committed member of the NPT,” although Eslami warned in his remarks that Iran could retaliate if it is challenged at an upcoming meeting of the IAEA’s Governing Council. Grossi acknowledged that some countries are considering taking action against Iran.

“We have repeatedly stated that any resolution aimed at interfering in the nuclear affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran will necessarily be accompanied by immediate reciprocal steps, and we will not allow them to (exercise) such pressure,” Eslami said.

Journalists at the press conference, as well as Eslami, criticized Israel for its long campaign of sabotage and assassination aimed at Iran’s nuclear program. Some noted that Israeli officials have threatened Iran’s nuclear facilities as a target for potential retaliation as Iran and Israel exchange direct attacks amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s ground and air offensive in Lebanon.

“The answer is what we are doing here, what we, the IAEA and Iran can do in terms of dealing with the current issues,” Grossi said, describing a “situation of tension” centered on Iran’s nuclear program.

“I’m here to work with Iran, (to) try to find adequate solutions to de-escalate tensions to move forward. This is my goal. This is my concern. And I am sure that we will be able to do it,” he said.

But as both men ended the press conference with shouting questions from reporters, neither offered any indication that a breakthrough was imminent.

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Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran contributed to this report.