Reaching an agreement on Iran's nuclear program is closer than ever, IAEA Director-General Raphael Grossi said on Friday.
"It seems to me that after many months of negotiations, the parties are now closer to an agreement than ever before," he said in an interview with RFI, a French radio station. According to him, "the agreement will give the IAEA the ability to carry out inspections and monitoring."
"Site inspections by IAEA experts would be in the interest of all parties," Grossi said. "It's a matter of political will," he noted.
The IAEA director-general stressed that "Iran has a broad nuclear program," but declined to comment on Tehran's goals. "If it is possible to come to an agreement with Iran on a thorough and credible system of inspections, that would remove arguments that could justify a hostile attitude toward Iran," Grossi noted. "So I think it's in everybody's interest," he said.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program was signed with Tehran in 2015 to address the crisis over its nuclear developments by the permanent UN Security Council Five and Germany. In 2018, then-US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the arrangement. The current US leader, Joe Biden, has repeatedly signaled his willingness to bring Washington back into the nuclear deal with Tehran. Britain, Germany, China, Russia, the US and France have been negotiating with Iran in Vienna since last April to restore the JCPOA to its original form.
On August 24, the Iranian foreign ministry said that the US had responded to Iran's and the EU's proposal to restore the JCPOA. Tehran promised to provide its commentary after reviewing the US position.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Dean Calma/IAEA СС2.0
Based on materials from TASS