Iran invites IAEA chief for talks before showdown with West

Iran invites IAEA chief for talks before  showdown with West

Reuters – By Francois Murphy and Parisa Hafezi, John Irish- Sept 13th 2021

VIENNA Sept 11 (Reuters) – U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi will fly to Tehran this weekend for talks that may ease a standoff between Iran and the West just as it threatens to escalate and scupper negotiations on reviving the Iran nuclear deal.

Three diplomats who follow the International Atomic Energy Agency closely told Reuters that Grossi’s trip before next week’s meeting of the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors was confirmed. Two said he would meet the new head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, on Sunday.

The IAEA and Iran’s envoy to the agency later confirmed the trip and the meeting.

“Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will meet with Vice-President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Head of the AEOI, Mohammad Eslami, in Tehran on Sunday,” the IAEA said, adding that Grossi was expected to hold a news conference at Vienna airport around 8:30 p.m. (1830 GMT) on Sunday.

The IAEA informed member states this week that there had been no progress on two central issues: explaining uranium traces found at several old, undeclared sites and getting urgent access to some monitoring equipment so the agency can continue to keep track of parts of Iran’s nuclear programme as provided for by the 2015 deal.

Read moreon Reuters.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-invites-iaea-chief-talks-before-showdown-with-west-diplomats-2021-09-11/