Latest news with #IAEA
NHK
2 hours ago
- General
- NHK
Iran says it may allow US inspectors if nuclear deal reached
Iran says it may allow US inspectors working for the International Atomic Energy Agency at its nuclear facilities depending on how talks with Washington proceed over Tehran's nuclear development program. In previous talks, the Trump administration has called for a complete halt to Iran's uranium enrichment activities, a demand Tehran has rejected. The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, told reporters on Wednesday that Iran will reconsider admitting American inspectors from the United Nations' nuclear watchdog if the country's demands are observed. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told reporters that if an agreement is reached between the two countries, "a solid, very robust inspection by the IAEA will be a prerequisite." Grossi expressed optimism over the talks, saying that the fact that Iran and the United States are continuing to meet is "an indication of a willingness to come to an agreement." Also on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump told reporters, "We're very close to a solution." Asked if he had warned Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against taking any action that could disrupt the talks, Trump said that he had. The US and Israel both want to prevent Iran's nuclear development, but are seemingly taking a different approach.
Powys County Times
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Israeli strike on Iran ‘would be inappropriate' during nuclear talks
Donald Trump said he has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on striking Iran to give the US administration more time to push for a new nuclear deal with Tehran. 'I told him this would be inappropriate to do right now because we're very close to a solution,' Mr Trump told reporters at the White House. 'Now, that could change at any moment. It could change with a phone call. But right now, I think they want to make a deal. And, if we can make a deal, (it would) save a lot of lives.' The US president added that an agreement could come together 'over the next couple of weeks, if it happens'. His comments came as the head of the United Nations' atomic watchdog said 'the jury is still out' on negotiations between Iran and the US over Tehran's nuclear programme – but described the continuing negotiations as a good sign. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), described himself as being in near-daily conversation with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, as well as talking to Steve Witkoff, the US Middle East envoy. Mr Grossi acknowledged one of his deputies was in Tehran on Wednesday. Iranian officials identified the official as Massimo Aparo, the head of the IAEA's safeguards arm. That is the division that sends inspectors into Iran to monitor its programme, which now enriches uranium up to 60% purity – a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%. 'For the moment, the jury is still out. We don't know whether there's going to be an agreement or not,' Mr Grossi told journalists attending a week-long seminar at the agency in Vienna. However, he described the ongoing meetings as a good sign. '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.' Iran and the US so far have held five rounds of talks in both Muscat, Oman, and Rome, mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi. A sixth round has yet to be set. 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 on the Islamic Republic, closing in on a half-century of enmity. Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash air strikes targeting Iran's programme, if a deal is not reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium. Mr Trump has described Iran as having an American proposal to reach a deal. However, Iran has repeatedly denied receiving such a proposal, with a fresh denial on Wednesday by Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran. However, if a deal is reached, Iran might allow the IAEA to have American inspectors on their teams during inspections, Mr Eslami said. Americans represent the largest single nationality of IAEA employees, a 2023 agency report showed. Before Mr Grossi's comments to journalists in Vienna, the head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued a new warning to the US as the negotiations go on. 'Our fingers on the trigger, we are in ambush and we are waiting,' General Hossein Salami warned. 'If they make a mistake, they will immediately receive responses that will make them completely forget their past.' Despite the tensions, Mr Grossi said that he believed 'there's always a way' to reach a deal between the Americans and the Iranians – even with the disagreement over enrichment. He added the IAEA had been making some 'suggestions' to both the Iranians and the Americans, without elaborating. However, he added that any possible deal likely would require a 'solid, very robust' IAEA investigation of Iran's programme to understand where it stood after years of Tehran restricting inspectors' ability to assess it.
Arab News
8 hours ago
- Business
- Arab News
Any US-Iran deal should include ‘robust' IAEA inspections: Grossi
VIENNA: Any deal between Iran and the US that would impose fresh nuclear curbs on Iran should include 'very robust' inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday. The two countries are holding talks meant to rein in Iranian nuclear activities that have rapidly accelerated since President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of a 2015 deal between Iran and major powers that strictly limited those activities. As that deal has unraveled, Iran has increased the purity to which it is enriching uranium to up to 60 percent, close to the roughly 90 percent of nuclear arms-grade, from 3.67 percent under the deal. It has also scrapped the extra IAEA oversight imposed by the 2015 pact. 'My impression is that if you have that type of agreement, a solid, very robust inspection by the IAEA ... should be a prerequisite, and I'm sure it will be, because it would imply a very, very serious commitment on the part of Iran, which must be verified,' Grossi said. He stopped short, however, of saying Iran should resume implementation of the Additional Protocol, an agreement between the IAEA and member states that broadens the range of IAEA oversight to include snap inspections of undeclared sites. Iran implemented it under the 2015 deal, until the US exit in 2018. Asked if he meant the protocol should be applied, Grossi said 'I'm very practical,' adding that this was not a subject in the talks. While the IAEA is not part of the talks, he said he was in touch with both sides, including US special envoy Steve Witkoff. 'I don't think they are discussing it in these terms. I don't see the discussion as being a discussion on legal norms to be applied or not. I tend to see this as more of an ad hoc approach,' said Grossi. Iran, meanwhile, said it may consider allowing US inspectors with the IAEA to inspect its facilities if a deal is reached with the US. 'Countries that were hostile to us and behaved unprincipledly over the years — we have always tried not to accept inspectors from those countries,' Iran's nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said, referring to staff from the IAEA. Tehran 'will reconsider accepting American inspectors through the agency' if 'an agreement is reached, and Iran's demands are taken into account,' he added. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that 'consultations are ongoing regarding the time and location of the next round of talks, and once finalized, they will be announced by Oman.' Eslami said: 'The enrichment percentage depends on the type of use. When highly enriched uranium is produced, it does not necessarily mean military use,' he said. Baqaei meanwhile said: 'The continuation of enrichment in Iran is an inseparable part of the country's nuclear industry and a fundamental principle for the Islamic Republic of Iran.' 'Any proposal or initiative that contradicts this principle or undermines this right is unacceptable.'
Al-Ahram Weekly
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Trump says warned Netanyahu against striking Iran - Region
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off from striking Iran as he voiced optimism about nuclear talks his administration is holding with Tehran. Iran said that it may consider allowing Americans to inspect its facilities as part of the United Nations nuclear watchdog if a deal is reached. Trump, asked if he had told Netanyahu in a call next week not to take any action that could disrupt the diplomacy, said: "Well, I'd like to be honest, yes, I did." Pressed on what he told the Israeli premier, Trump replied: "I just said I don't think it's appropriate, we're having very good discussions with them." He added: "I told him this would be inappropriate to do right now because we're very close to a solution. "I think they want to make a deal, and if we can make a deal, save a lot of lives." Tehran and Washington have in recent weeks held five rounds of talks focused on the issue -- their highest-level contact since Trump in 2018 withdrew from a previous deal negotiated by former president Barack Obama. Trump, on a visit to Qatar earlier in May, voiced optimism at reaching a new agreement with Iran that avoids military conflict. Israel sees cleric-ruled Iran as its top enemy. Israel has repeatedly threatened strikes on its nuclear facilities, after pummelling Iranian air defences in rare direct combat. 'Reconsider accepting Americans' Iran denies Western claims that it is seeking a nuclear weapon, insisting its program is solely for peaceful, civilian purposes. Trump, withdrawing from the Obama-era deal in 2018, imposed sweeping sanctions that include pressuring all countries not to buy Iranian oil. "Countries that were hostile to us and behaved unprincipledly over the years -- we have always tried not to accept inspectors from those countries," Iran's nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, told reporters, referring to staff from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Tehran "will reconsider accepting American inspectors through the agency" if "an agreement is reached, and Iran's demands are taken into account," he said. President Masoud Pezeshkian, currently on an official visit to Oman, thanked the Gulf state for its mediation efforts between the longtime adversaries, which have had no formal diplomatic ties since 1979. Iranian Foreign Minister and top negotiator Abbas Araghchi, who is accompanying Pezeshkian in Oman, said that "the date for the new round of negotiations will probably be clarified within the next few days." While welcoming the negotiations, Iranian officials have repeatedly declared uranium enrichment "non-negotiable." Trump administration officials have publicly insisted that Iran not be allowed to enrich any uranium -- even at low levels for civilian purposes, as allowed under Obama's 2015 deal. "The continuation of enrichment in Iran is an inseparable part of the country's nuclear industry and a fundamental principle for the Islamic Republic of Iran," Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters. "Any proposal or initiative that contradicts this principle or undermines this right is unacceptable." Iran currently enriches uranium up to 60 per cent -- the highest level of any non-nuclear weapons state. That rate is still below the 90 per cent threshold required for a nuclear weapon, but far above the 3.67 per cent limit set under the 2015 deal. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Asharq Al-Awsat
9 hours ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
UN Nuclear Watchdog Chief Says ‘Jury Is Still Out' on Iran-US Talks, but Calls Them a Good Sign
The head of the United Nations' atomic watchdog said Wednesday that 'the jury is still out' on negotiations between Iran and the US over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program, but described the continuing negotiations a good sign. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, made the comment to journalists attending a weeklong seminar at the agency in Vienna. Grossi acknowledged one of his deputies was in Tehran on Wednesday. Iranian officials identified the official as Massimo Aparo, the head of the IAEA's safeguards arm. 'For the moment, the jury is still out,' Grossi said. 'The fact that they continue to meet ... that is an indication of a willingness to come to an agreement.' The talks seek to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the US has imposed on Tehran, closing in on a half-century of enmity. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran's program, if a deal isn't reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. Before Grossi's comments to journalists in Vienna, the head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued a new warning to the US as the negotiations go on. 'Our fingers on the trigger, we are in ambush and we are waiting,' Gen. Hossein Salami warned. 'If they make a mistake, they will immediately receive responses that will make them completely forget their past.'
