'Jury out' on US-Iran nuclear talks, says UN atomic watchdog chief

Euronews

3 days ago

The "jury is still out" on whether the US and Iran will reach a deal over Tehran's advancing nuclear programme, but the continued negotiations are a good sign, the head of the UN's atomic agency has said.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, made the comments at his organisation's headquarters in Vienna on Wednesday, days after the latest round of talks between the two countries came to a close.
"For the moment, the jury is still out. We don't know whether there's going to be an agreement or not," Grossi said.
He stressed, however, that the ongoing dialogue is positive.
"I think that is an indication of a willingness to come to an agreement. And I think that, in and by itself, is something possible."
Grossi said he talks regularly with the US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and is in almost daily communication with Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi.
Tehran and Washington have so far held five rounds of talks in Italy and Oman, with the negotiations mediated by the Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi. A sixth round has yet to be set.
"The fifth round of Iran US talks have concluded today in Rome with some but not conclusive progress," al-Busaidi wrote on X on Friday.
"We hope to clarify the remaining issues in the coming days, to allow us to proceed towards the common goal of reaching a sustainable and honourable agreement," he added.
The talks seek to limit Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the US has imposed.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to launch air strikes targeting Iran's nuclear facilities if a deal isn't reached.
Iranian officials meanwhile increasingly warn they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
Meanwhile, Israel has threatened to strike Iran's nuclear facilities on their own if it feels threatened, further complicating regional tensions already spiked by the war in Gaza.
The landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), capped Tehran's enrichment level at 3.67% and reduced its uranium stockpile to 300 kilograms.
That level is enough for nuclear power plants, but far below weapons-grade levels of 90%.
Since the deal collapsed in 2018 with Trump's unilateral withdrawal of the US from the accord, Iran has abandoned all limits on its programme and enriched uranium to up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said he will travel to Kyiv in the next few days amid reports that Russian troops are building power lines to link the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to its grid.
"I can say that, in the next few days, I will go to Kyiv again and perhaps also to Russia," Rafael Grossi told Euronews speaking to a group of international reporters at the week long seminar in Vienna.
The New York Times has recently reported that Russian forces are building power lines on temporarily occupied territories in south-eastern Ukraine. Evidence gathered by Greenpeace and satellite images show new electricity lines and pylons between the occupied Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Berdyansk on the Azov sea coast, which appeared since February 2025.
According to Greenpeace it proves that Moscow is willing to restart and exploit the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which has been shut down. The IAEA is concerned about this possibility.
"The front continues to be extremely active, so military operations are ongoing in the relative vicinity of the of the plant," Grossi told Euronews.
'We are concerned about this, we are following that. As you know, we have a permanent presence at the plant. And we are going to be continuing our discussions with both, in particular with the Russians, on this," he said, adding that the idea of restarting of the plant "is a matter that requires very careful consideration and perhaps very thorough safety evaluation. So this is one of the points I am going to be discussing with them over the next few days.'
The Argentinian diplomat - who visited Tehran in April - is also carefully following the talks between the US administration and Iran. Grossi said he was in daily contact with Foreign Minister Al Aghji and that one of his deputies is today in Tehran.
"Depending on the day, there are days where things look a bit better," said Grossi, but he added that some days President Trump is saying one thing, then the Iranians reply with another.
Any US-Iran deal should include the scope for 'robust' IAEA inspections, Grossi said, reiterating recent comments that agreement without the IAEA would just be a "piece of paper".
Grossi called the talks a good sign but insisted that 'the jury is still out' on negotiations between Iran and the US over Tehran's advancing nuclear programme.
The Trump administration is currently holding talks to try to stop Iran from following through with nuclear activities. Back in 2016, the Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Grossi was asked whether his future plans include interest in replacing Antonio Guterres as UN chief when his term comes to an end in December 2026.
"What I have said to colleagues in other parts of the world is that I'm seriously considering, that, yes. But for the moment, I'm here, and I have as you can see from this discussion, I have a lot on my plate," he said.