IAEA Chief Grossi Hopes to Hold Talks with Iranian President by November

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi holds a press conference on the opening day of a quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, Austria, March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi holds a press conference on the opening day of a quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, Austria, March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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IAEA Chief Grossi Hopes to Hold Talks with Iranian President by November

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi holds a press conference on the opening day of a quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, Austria, March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi holds a press conference on the opening day of a quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, Austria, March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi hopes to hold talks with new Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian by November on improving Iran's cooperation with his agency, he said on Monday.

Several long-standing issues are dogging relations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, including Tehran's barring of uranium-enrichment experts on the inspection team and its failure for years to explain uranium traces found at undeclared sites.

"He (Pezeshkian) agreed to meet with me at an appropriate juncture," Grossi said in a statement to a quarterly meeting of his agency's 35-nation Board of Governors, referring to an exchange after Pezeshkian's election in July, according to Reuters.

"I encourage Iran to facilitate such a meeting in the not-too-distant future so that we can establish a constructive dialogue that leads swiftly to real results," he said.

With nuclear diplomacy largely stalled between the Iranian presidential election and the US one on Nov. 5, Grossi said he wanted to make real progress soon.

Asked at a news conference if his reference to the "not-too-distant future" meant before or after the US election, Grossi said: "No, hopefully before that."

IAEA board resolutions ordering Iran to cooperate urgently with the investigation into the uranium traces and calling on it to reverse its barring of inspectors have brought little change, and quarterly IAEA reports seen by Reuters on Aug. 29 showed no progress.

Iran responded to the latest resolution in June by announcing an expansion of its enrichment capacity, installing more centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium, at its Natanz and Fordow sites.

At its Fordow site dug into a mountain where it is enriching to up to 60% purity, close to the 90% of weapons grade, it installed two of the eight new cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-6 centrifuges within days of informing the IAEA of its plan. Two weeks later, it had installed another two.

By the end of the quarter, the latest IAEA reports showed Iran had completed installation of all eight new cascades but still not brought them online. At its larger underground site at Natanz, which is enriching to up to 5% purity, it had brought 15 new cascades of other advanced models online.

"What we see is that there is some work, but nothing that indicates a rush to a fast implementation of a big increase in terms of enrichment production," Grossi said.

Iran has stepped up nuclear work since 2019, after then-US President Donald Trump abandoned an agreement reached under his predecessor Barack Obama under which Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of international sanctions.

Western diplomats say there are plans for talks on fresh restrictions should Democrat Kamala Harris win the election.



22 People Die in a Crash between a Passenger Bus and a Truck in Brazil

A general view of Brazil's National Congress during sunset in Brasilia, Brazil, June 11, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A general view of Brazil's National Congress during sunset in Brasilia, Brazil, June 11, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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22 People Die in a Crash between a Passenger Bus and a Truck in Brazil

A general view of Brazil's National Congress during sunset in Brasilia, Brazil, June 11, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A general view of Brazil's National Congress during sunset in Brasilia, Brazil, June 11, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

A crash between a passenger bus and a truck early Saturday killed 22 people on a highway in Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil, officials said.

The Minas Gerais fire department, which responded to the scene, said 13 others were taken to hospitals near the city of Teofilo Otoni. The bus had reportedly departed from Sao Paulo and was carrying 45 passengers.

Authorities said the bus blew a tire, causing the driver to lose control and collide with a truck. A car with three passengers also collided with the bus, but all three survived, according to the fire department, The AP reported.

Rescue teams are working on the accident site and there are still more victims to be removed, said Lt. Alonso of the fire department.

Gov. Romeu Zema wrote on X that he ordered “full mobilization” of the Minas Gerais government to assist the victims.

“We are working to ensure that families of the victims are supported to face this tragedy in the most humane way possible, especially as it comes just before Christmas,” Zema said.

In 2024, more than 10,000 people died in traffic accidents in Brazil, according to the Ministry of Transportation.

In September, a bus carrying a football team flipped on a road and killed three people. The Coritiba Crocodiles, a team from the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, was headed to a game in Rio de Janeiro, where they were set to play in the country’s American football championship. The game was canceled following the deadly accident.