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.”
