The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) urged on Tuesday Iran to reach an understanding over its atomic activity with the administration of US President Donald Trump in order to avoid being dragged into another military conflict in the Middle East.
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said that Iran has accelerated its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade.
He spoke about Trump’s decision six-and-a-half years ago to quit the 2015 nuclear deal that gave Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for strict limits on its nuclear activities.
“There was an agreement that existed before President Trump decided that was not the path he wanted to follow,” Grossi said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Now we need to come to terms with how we deal with this, excluding of course, a war. We don’t want more wars.”
He confirmed Iran continues to produce large quantities of highly-enriched uranium. In December, Tehran’s engineers increased capacity sevenfold, to about 34 kilograms a month in response to a diplomatic censure in November.
Iran ready for more talks
Meanwhile, Iran threw the ball into the West’s court, declaring its readiness to revive negotiations on its advanced nuclear program.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday his country wants to pursue discussions with European nations (France, Germany and the UK) after both sides held a third round of talks in Geneva last week.
“We agreed to continue discussions. We will determine the date and time for them through joint consultations,” he said.
Both Iran and the so-called E3 countries had described previous talks as “frank and constructive.” Iran said the third round, which started last September in New York, aimed at exploring how Tehran can return to the negotiations table.
Gharibabadi said: “The most logical path forward is to initiate talks on lifting sanctions.”
Speaking to reporters, he reiterated Iran's willingness to engage in diplomacy. The country, as always, is ready to initiate and resume negotiations aimed at lifting sanctions, he said.
“We have consistently been prepared, and if the other parties demonstrate the same readiness, we are confident that talks can proceed and yield positive results,” he said, according to the state-owned Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).
He underscored the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, adding that “there are proper opportunities for dialogue and understanding” and noting that “unilateral sanctions were ineffective.”
Both US and Iranian officials have sent mixed signals about whether they were headed to a confrontation or explore diplomatic solutions now that Trump has assumed office.
Maximum pressure
Tehran fears that Trump will return to his previous “maximum pressure” policy that he had applied on Iran during his first term in office. It also fears Britain, France and Germany could trigger the so-called “snapback mechanism,” part of the 2015 deal, which allows signatories to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran in cases of the “significant non-performance” of commitments.
The option to trigger the mechanism expires in October this year, adding urgency to the ongoing diplomatic efforts.
Last Friday, reports said Iranian officials had informed their European counterparts that Tehran would withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the snapback mechanism is implemented.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that Trump could blow a $30 billion hole in Iran’s economy should he return reimpose his maximum pressure policy.
It said the president’s key advisers are looking at a big sanctions package that hits major players in Iran’s oil industry, which could come as early as February.
On Sunday, Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said in an interview that the administration will make key decisions concerning Iran over the next month.
He said the Israeli strikes against Hamas and Hezbollah, in addition to the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, have all prepared the circumstances for the US to soon take strategic decisions.
