TEHRAN, Iran (AP) –
The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog arrived in Tehran on Saturday ahead of Iran’s plan to partially suspend the agency’s inspection at the country’s nuclear facilities, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Rafael Grossi will meet with Iranian nuclear officials, including Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the country’s nuclear department and a vice president of President Hassan Rouhani.
The Iranian parliament approved a bill in December that would suspend part of the UN inspections of its nuclear facilities under a nuclear deal in 2015, if European signatories to the agreement do not provide oil and banking sanctions on 23 February. additional protocol allowing IAEA inspectors to conduct more in-depth inspections at Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Following the 2015 agreement, Iran voluntarily agreed to implement the additional protocol.
Earlier on Saturday, Salehi said he and Grossi would meet on Sunday to discuss the agency’s “concerns” about the cessation of inspections as well as Iran’s cooperation with the agency.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Wednesday that the visit was aimed at “a solution for the IAEA that is reciprocally accepted to continue essential verification activities in the country.” ”
The visit, the second in a six-month period, comes amid diplomatic efforts to keep alive the nuclear deal, which has been unraveled since the US unilaterally withdrew from it under then-President Donald Trump in 2018.
In response to Trump’s so-called ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran, the country gradually began to violate its nuclear commitments under the nuclear deal. It also threatened further provocations in an effort to increase its leverage and get President Joe Biden to prioritize a return to the agreement while seeking to undermine Trump’s legacy. Biden said the US is interested in rejoining the agreement.
The ultimate goal of the agreement is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, something Iran insists it does not want to do.