IAEA Delegation to Visit Iran: Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is going to visit Iran for talks, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Monday, Kanaani said an Iranian delegation paid a visit to Vienna last week and held meetings with the IAEA officials.
“Iran will naturally continue its constructive cooperation (with the IAEA) for the settlement of the Safeguards issues,” he noted, adding that a delegation representing the UN nuclear agency is going to travel to Iran.
Deploring some attempts to undermine the technical process of negotiations between Iran and the IAEA, Kanaani said the European troika –the UK, France and Germany- have displayed “hasty and unconstructive behavior” and are seeking the “political utilization” of the IAEA.
He emphasized that the IAEA Board of Governors’ resolutions against Iran would not help resolve any problem and will only disrupt the situation.
The spokesman called on the European troika to abandon unconstructive measures in relation to Iran.
In comments on November 2, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the director general of the IAEA have agreed on plans for interaction between the two sides.
The foreign minister also expressed hope that the UN nuclear agency would focus on technical issues, so that accusations leveled against Iran would be resolved through technical cooperation.
On the talks about the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal and the removal of sanctions against Tehran, Amirabdollahian said that contrary to the contradictory remarks by a number of American officials, the exchange of messages is still in progress.
In parallel with the measures being taken in Vienna, a timetable is being readjusted for the Vienna negotiations and the exchange of messages is underway through the European Union’s coordinator, he stated.
In July 2015, Iran signed JCPOA with world powers, agreeing to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. However, former US president Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the agreement in May 2018 and re-imposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to abandon some of the pact's commitments.
The talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal began in Vienna in April 2021 but were suspended in March of this year due to political differences between Tehran and Washington.
Iranian officials say Tehran needs strong guarantees that it can reap the economic benefits from the deal and the other party will not unilaterally withdraw from it again.