IAEA: Without Tehran’s Commitment, There Will Be No Agreement

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi attends a news conference during a board of governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/Files
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi attends a news conference during a board of governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/Files
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IAEA: Without Tehran’s Commitment, There Will Be No Agreement

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi attends a news conference during a board of governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/Files
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi attends a news conference during a board of governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/Files

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, stressed that without the commitment of Tehran and the cooperation of all parties, no agreement would be reached in the Vienna talks.

He added that the IAEA was intensifying its efforts to support reaching an agreement and to ensure its implementation, noting that talks were moving in the right direction despite the difficult challenges.

In an interview with Al-Arabiya channel on Saturday, Grossi said that reaching an agreement within days was complicated, but not impossible, adding that the next few days would clarify where the current efforts would lead.

The difficulties persist and exist, but the parties should work on solving them one by one, according to the IAEA chief.

Grossi pointed out that the agency was concerned about the presence of undeclared nuclear materials in Iranian sites. He called on Iran to cooperate and allow full access to the monitoring and surveillance equipment on Iranian nuclear facilities, stressing that without the commitment of the Iranian authorities and the cooperation of all parties, there would be no agreement.

The United States, as well as diplomats from key countries, including France, Britain, Germany, Russia, and China, have repeatedly warned Tehran that time was running out, and that the next few weeks would be crucial in reviving the agreement that was abandoned in 2018 by the former US administration of Donald Trump.

However, the Iranian authorities are still insisting on some conditions that constitute a major obstacle to reaching a solution, including the request to provide guarantees that the US administration would not withdraw from any new agreement, as well as the lifting of all sanctions imposed on the country, especially those related to terrorism.

For his part, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said on Saturday that Tehran had the right to continue nuclear research and development, adding that this matter could not be restricted by any agreement.

Shamkhani wrote on his Twitter account: “Iran’s legal right to continue research and development and to maintain its peaceful nuclear capabilities and achievements, along with its security against supported evils, cannot be restricted by any agreement.”

He added: “Real, effective and verifiable economic benefit for Iran is a necessary condition for the formation of an agreement. The show of lifting sanctions is not considered constructive.”



Iran Says Continuing Uranium Enrichment on Its Soil 'Red Line'

People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)
People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)
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Iran Says Continuing Uranium Enrichment on Its Soil 'Red Line'

People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)
People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that Iran's right to enrich uranium on its soil was a "red line" after the United States submitted its proposal for a new nuclear deal.

"Continuing enrichment on Iranian soil is our red line," Araghchi said while on a visit to Lebanon, adding that his country will respond to the proposal in the coming days based on Iran's "principled positions and the interests of the Iranian people".

US President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated that Iran will not be allowed any enrichment of uranium under a potential deal with Washington.

Araghchi said the US proposal, submitted through mediator Oman, has "many ambiguities and questions".

On Saturday, Iran said it received "elements" of a US proposal for a nuclear deal following five rounds of talks that started in April and were mediated by Oman.

Uranium enrichment has remained a key point of contention between Washington and Tehran in the talks to seal a nuclear deal, with Iran defending what it says is its right to pursue a peaceful nuclear energy program and the US calling it a "red line".

"We will not ask anyone for permission to continue enriching uranium in Iran. However, we are ready to take steps... to ensure that this enrichment will not lead to the production of nuclear weapons," Araghchi said.

Araghchi was visiting Beirut following a stop in Cairo on Monday, where he met with Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Grossi on Monday called for more transparency from Iran following a leaked report that showed Tehran had increased production of highly enriched uranium.

The IAEA report showed that Iran has ramped up production of uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity -- close to the roughly 90 percent level needed for atomic weapons.

Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.