Talks ‘inconclusive’, IAEA lacking knowledge: UN nuclear chief

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The head of the United Nations’ atomic energy organization on Wednesday warned that they are close to the point of not being able to guarantee continuity of knowledge, following meetings with Iranian officials about Iran's nuclear programme on Tuesday which he described as “inconclusive”.

“We are close to the point where I would not be able to guarantee continuity of knowledge,” Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi told reporters, clarifying that such a long period of time without access or knowledge about operational activities in Iran would at some point prevent the IAEA from saying that they have an idea of what is going on.

Grossi arrived in Tehran on Monday. On Tuesday he met with Iranian officials and said he was looking for "common ground" with Tehran. However Grossi on Wednesday told reporters that the talks were fruitless.

“Our negotiations have been inconclusive, meaning we could not finish,” Grossi said, but stressed that he was not giving up on trying to find some understanding.“The issues are still there and we are still talking. We could not agree yesterday in spite of my best efforts,” he added.

Ahead of his press conference, Grossi briefed the IAEA Board of Governors on his visit to Tehran.

“On 23 November 2021, I had meetings in Tehran with the Vice President of Iran and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, H.E. Mohammad Eslami, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, H.E. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Despite my best efforts, these extensive negotiations and deliberations to address Iran’s outstanding safeguards issues, detailed in the two reports, proved inconclusive,” he said.

Grossi added that Iran has continued to deny access to the Tessa Karaj workshop, claiming it affects “the agency’s ability to restore continuity of knowledge at the workshop.”

Tehran and the IAEA have had back and forth issues for the past two months. In September, the IAEA said that they had been denied access to the Tessa Karaj centrifuge component manufacturing workshop, defining it as contrary to the terms agreed upon earlier in the month for Iran to permit IAEA inspectors “to service the identified equipment and replace their storage media which will be kept under the joint IAEA and AEOI [Atomic Energy Organization of Iran] seals in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

In response, Iran’s former ambassador and permanent representative to the UN, Kazem Gharibabadi argued that access to the Tessa Karaj Complex was not part of the agreement as it was under “security and judicial investigations”.

Grossi’s visit comes as nuclear deal talks are set to resume in Vienna on November 29. Earlier this month, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri visited several European countries, where the forthcoming nuclear talks were key among the topics of discussion.

Under former president Donald Trump, the United States withdrew from the nuclear accord and imposed a raft of sanctions in an effort to force Tehran to renegotiate a broader deal. The campaign failed and Iran expanded its nuclear program.

President Joe Biden wants to return to the deal, but talks to bring the US back on board, lifting sanctions and returning Iran to full compliance with its nuclear commitments were suspended in June to allow for the transition of the new government in Iran.

Iran’s atomic energy agency earlier this month said that its stockpile of 20% enriched uranium has reached over 210 kilograms, far exceeding the 3.67% limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The US and its Arab allies in the Gulf have accused Iran of causing a nuclear crisis and destabilizing the Middle East.