Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency visited Iran
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Tehran on Monday evening, December 2, to discuss differences over technical issues of the nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Rafael Grossi is scheduled to meet with Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, on Tuesday, as well as, for the first time, with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
The agency's director general complained last week about restrictions on the agency's work in Iran and that its inspectors had been subjected to "extreme physical searches" by Iranian security forces for months.
In addition, Mr. Grossi said that Tehran had violated the agreement to monitor the construction of a facility for advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges. Iran has rejected Grossi's criticisms.
Ahead of this trip, which is his second to Tehran in the last three months, the IAEA Director General said that he wants to discuss these problems with Iranian leaders and is "hopeful" to find solutions.
His trip to Tehran comes on the eve of the Board of Governors meeting, and Mr. Grossi is scheduled to hold a press conference on Tuesday after returning from this trip about the results of his talks with officials of the Islamic Republic.
Following Iran's reduced cooperation with the Agency and Tehran's failure to provide a convincing answer about the origin of enriched uranium traces at several undeclared sites, speculation about the Board of Governors' response has increased.
Reuters has predicted that the IAEA Board of Governors meeting this week will likely pass a resolution against Iran.
One week after the upcoming meeting of the Board of Governors and Mr. Grossi's visit to Tehran, the seventh round of negotiations to revive the JCPOA is scheduled to resume on November 29 in Vienna, the capital of Austria.
Source: Radio Farda
