Grossi: Nuclear Deal Not Possible Until Iran Resolves its Issues with Agency

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi (L), is welcomed to Tehran by Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi - Atomic Energy Organization of Iran/AFP
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi (L), is welcomed to Tehran by Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi - Atomic Energy Organization of Iran/AFP
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Grossi: Nuclear Deal Not Possible Until Iran Resolves its Issues with Agency

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi (L), is welcomed to Tehran by Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi - Atomic Energy Organization of Iran/AFP
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi (L), is welcomed to Tehran by Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi - Atomic Energy Organization of Iran/AFP

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said on Saturday that reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers will not be possible without first settling Tehran's issues with the agency.

Iran's nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami told a joint news conference in Tehran with Grossi that outstanding issues would be resolved toward the end of June.

Tehran has agreed to "present documents to the IAEA to close remaining issues", he said.

Tehran and Washington have held more than 11 months of indirect talks in Vienna on reviving the pact, which was abandoned in 2018 by former US President Donald Trump, who also reimposed far-reaching sanctions on Iran.

The 2015 deal limited Iran's enrichment of uranium, to make it harder for Tehran to develop material for nuclear weapons, in return for a lifting of economic sanctions.

All parties involved in the talks aimed at bringing Tehran and Washington back into compliance with the nuclear pact have said they were close to reaching an agreement in Vienna.

One wildcard is an effort by the IAEA to resolve questions about nuclear material that the Vienna-based agency suspects Iran failed to declare Grossi said there are matters that still need to be addressed by Iran.



Iran Media: Russian Rocket Puts Iran Satellite into Space

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage, carrying two Ionosfera-M satellites and 18 payloads, including Iran's Nahid-2 telecommunications satellite, blasts off from its launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far-eastern Amur region, Russia July 25, 2025. Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko/Handout via REUTERS
A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage, carrying two Ionosfera-M satellites and 18 payloads, including Iran's Nahid-2 telecommunications satellite, blasts off from its launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far-eastern Amur region, Russia July 25, 2025. Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran Media: Russian Rocket Puts Iran Satellite into Space

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage, carrying two Ionosfera-M satellites and 18 payloads, including Iran's Nahid-2 telecommunications satellite, blasts off from its launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far-eastern Amur region, Russia July 25, 2025. Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko/Handout via REUTERS
A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage, carrying two Ionosfera-M satellites and 18 payloads, including Iran's Nahid-2 telecommunications satellite, blasts off from its launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far-eastern Amur region, Russia July 25, 2025. Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko/Handout via REUTERS

A Russian rocket put an Iranian communications satellite into space on Friday, Iranian state media reported, the latest achievement for an aerospace program that has long concerned Western governments.

"The Nahid-2 communications satellite was launched from Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome using a Soyuz rocket," state television said.

Weighing 110 kilograms (over 240 pounds), the satellite was designed and manufactured by Iranian engineers, the broadcaster added.

Western governments have long expressed concern that technological advances made in Iran's space program can also be used to upgrade its ballistic missile arsenal, AFP reported.

The launch was announced shortly before nuclear talks between Iran and Britain, France and Germany opened in Istanbul.

In December, Iran announced it had put its heaviest payload to date into space, using a domestically manufactured satellite carrier.

In September, Iran said it had put the Chamran-1 research satellite into orbit using the Ghaem-100 carrier, which is produced by the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace division.