VIENNA: Iran has agreed to reconnect surveillance cameras at several nuclear sites and increase the pace of inspections, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday.

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi earlier said he had held “constructive” talks with Iranian officials in Tehran after the discovery of uranium particles enriched to near weapons-grade level.

On his return to Vienna, Grossi recalled there had been “a reduction in monitoring activities related to cameras and monitoring systems” and said that “we have agreed that those will be operating again”.

“This is very, very important” in terms of continuity of knowledge, “in particular in the context of the possibility of the revival of JCPOA”, he said.

Grossi arrived in Iran on Friday talks deadlocked on reviving a landmark 2015 accord on Iran’s nuclear activity, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

“We have put a tourniquet on the bleeding of information and lack of continuity of knowledge we had — now we can start working again. These are not words, this is very concrete,” he said.

IAEA chief says Tehran has also agreed to increase pace of inspections

The Vienna-based IAEA has been seeking greater cooperation with Iran over its nuclear activities.

The two-day visit to Iran by the IAEA chief director general came as the Vienna-based organisation seeks greater cooperation with Iran over its nuclear activities.

“By having a constructive discussion... and having good agreements, like I am sure we are going to have, we are going to be paving the way for important agreements,” Grossi earlier told a news conference alongside Iran’s top nuclear official Mohammad Eslami.

In his series of meetings with Iranian officials, Grossi met President Ebrahim Raisi.

Raisi acknowledged that “cooperation is a two-way street... (and) can continue based on maintaining the agency’s independence and the rights of the Iranian nation,” the political deputy of Iran’s presidency, Mohammad Jamshidi, tweeted.

A diplomatic source earlier said the meeting with Raisi was aimed to “relaunch the dialogue” on Iran’s atomic work and to “reset the relationship at the highest level”.

Grossi arrived on Friday in Iran amid deadlock in negotiations on reviving a landmark 2015 accord on Iran’s nuclear activity, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

Uranium particles enriched up to 83.7 per cent — just under the 90pc needed to produce an atomic bomb — had been detected at Iran’s underground Fordo plant about 100 kilometres south of Tehran, according to a confidential IAEA report seen by AFP this week.

Iran denies wanting to acquire atomic weapons, and says it had made no attempt to enrich uranium beyond 60pc purity.

Iran’s government has said, however, that “unintended fluctuations... may have occurred” during the enrichment process.

The discovery came after Iran had substantially modified an interconnection between two centrifuge clusters enriching uranium, without declaring it to the IAEA.

Obligations

On Saturday, Eslami, who heads the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, called on all parties to the 2015 deal to fulfil their “obligations”.

“Three European and some other countries are just focusing on Iran’s JCPOA obligations,” he told the news conference. “They too have obligations that they need to adhere to.”

“We came to an arrangement (with Grossi) to define our cooperation within the framework of the safeguards” on nuclear activity, he added.

“The relevant authorities will make a decision” if a resolution is reached, and Iran’s atomic agency will adhere to that decision, he said.

“Iran never sacrifices its national interests for anything else,” Eslami said.

Depending on Grossi’s assessments, the US as well as Britain, France and Germany will decide whether to submit a draft resolution censuring Iran to the IAEA board of governors, which is due to convene next week in Vienna.

Greater cooperation

The 2015 deal between Iran and world powers promised Tehran relief from biting economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities.

The restrictions set out in the deal, including the 3.67pc enrichment threshold, were intended to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

The United States unilaterally withdrew from the pact in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump and re-imposed sanctions, prompting Iran to suspend the implementation of its own commitments.

Negotiations aimed at reviving the deal started in 2021 but have been stalled since last year.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2023