IAEA director general meets with Iranian foreign minister in Tehran

TEHRAN / ISTANBUL

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks Wednesday in Tehran with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi as nuclear negotiations between Iran and the US continued.

Grossi arrived in the Iranian capital earlier in the day for talks with senior officials after indicating that Iran is not far off from making its own nuclear weapons.

He and Araghchi discussed the status and progress of technical cooperation between Iran and the agency, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Araghchi emphasized the need for the IAEA to "fulfill its professional and technical responsibilities without being influenced by external pressures." He also called for a clear and transparent stance from the agency on threats to Iran's nuclear facilities, the ministry said.

He also provided an update to Grossi on ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the US mediated by Oman.

Grossi highlighted the importance of continued cooperation between the IAEA and Iran, stressing the need for consultations with other parties to create a constructive environment for resolving outstanding issues. He also welcomed the indirect talks between Iran and the US, expressing hope that negotiations would continue until a positive outcome is reached.

Iran has enough material to produce several nuclear bombs but does not yet have nuclear weapons, Grossi told the French daily Le Monde before the meeting.

On the possibility of Tehran obtaining nuclear weapons, he said: “It's like a jigsaw puzzle. They have the pieces, and one day they can put them all together. There is a way to go to achieve this, but they are not far from it. We have to accept that. In the last four years, we have seen a remarkable acceleration in Iran in this area.”

Emphasizing that the IAEA should be included in the dialogue process between Iran and the US on Iran's nuclear activities, Grossi said: “They know that we will have to give our opinion on a possible agreement because it will be up to us to check up on it.”

Grossi was welcomed at Tehran’s airport by Behrouz Kamalvandi, vice president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

During his two-day visit, Grossi is also set to meet with Mohammad Islami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

US President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew his country from a nuclear deal with Iran in 2018, sent a letter last month to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for direct nuclear negotiations between the countries. Iran responded to the letter via Oman.

Following the exchange of letters, Iran and the US held indirect talks in Oman on Saturday, with both sides later calling them “positive and constructive.”

They announced that they would meet again on April 19 in Rome.

Steve Witkoff, Trump's special Middle East envoy, said Tuesday that Iran should stop enriching uranium, after earlier speaking of an enrichment limit.

Araghchi said Iran was ready to address concerns about its nuclear program but would not negotiate its right to enrich uranium.