IAEA chief: Talks with Iran should resume within weeks

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran is determined to enrich uranium to 20 percent, and talks with Iran on revitalizing the JCPOA and continuing the work of international inspectors should begin as soon as possible.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has said that there are only weeks, not months, left to resume talks with Iran.

In an interview with Reuters Next on Monday (January 11), Grossi stressed the importance of negotiating with the Islamic Republic as quickly as possible.

He said that Iran is seriously pursuing its 20 percent uranium enrichment program and will soon be able to produce about 10 kilograms of enriched uranium per month.

In order to reduce its JCPOA commitments, Iran has begun enriching uranium to 20 percent at the underground Fordow site and has announced that it plans to expel the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors from Iran next month.

Grossi said he believed Iran was “determined” to carry out its threat. He stressed the need to reach “a clear understanding of how to re-commit to the original terms and conditions of the JCPOA.”

On December 1, the Islamic Consultative Assembly passed the “Strategic Action to Lift Sanctions” law, requiring the government to annually stockpile 120 kilograms of 20 percent enriched uranium. The parliament’s resolution states that if international sanctions are not fully lifted, Iran will also refuse to fulfill all of its commitments under the JCPOA.

Ali Rabiei, a spokesman for Hassan Rouhani's government, stated that although "the government does not consider it expedient to implement this law," it is obligated to implement it.

In this regard, Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, a member of the Majlis' Presidium, announced on Saturday, January 9, 2020: "If the US does not remove financial, banking, and oil sanctions by March 20, we will definitely expel the IAEA inspectors from the country and will definitely stop the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol."

Of course, later, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman tried to modify Amirabadi's remarks, but Fereydoun Abbasi, head of the Energy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, said again in an interview with the Khaneh Mellat website on Saturday: "If the Westerners do not fulfill their commitments by March of this year, we will prevent the Agency's inspections."

Based on these threats, Joe Biden, who will officially take office as US President on January 20, has one month to lift the sanctions imposed on Iran.

Joe Biden's "very difficult path"

According to experts, 20% enrichment would pave the way for Iran to produce a nuclear bomb, although the Islamic Republic has repeatedly emphasized that its goal is not to produce nuclear weapons.

Under the JCPOA agreement signed in 2015 (July 2015) between Iran and six world powers, Tehran agreed to halt many nuclear activities and enrich uranium to a low level that cannot be used to produce nuclear weapons.

In return, six world powers (five plus one) agreed to gradually lift international sanctions on Iran.

But with the arrival of Donald Trump, who was a staunch opponent of the nuclear deal with Iran, in the White House, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and, in response, imposed heavy sanctions on Tehran and implemented the "maximum pressure on Iran" program.

Joe Biden, who is scheduled to begin his work in the White House on January 20, has repeatedly stated in recent weeks that he is willing to return the United States to the JCPOA, provided that Iran returns to its commitments under the agreement.