Today, the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency began its quarterly meeting to discuss Iran’s nuclear file along with the Ukrainian file, amid Western efforts to pass a resolution against Iran, which has warned of “consequences.”
The meeting, which runs from Monday until next Friday, will discuss the last report of the Director General of the Agency, Rafael Grossi, on the issue of verification and monitoring in Iran, in addition to informing the Board of Governors of the results of the Director General’s visit to both Iran and Israel.
In a report in late May, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the existence of questions that it did not receive “clarifications” regarding the presence of traces of enriched uranium previously found in 3 sites that Iran did not announce that it was conducting nuclear activities.
At the time, Iran vowed an “immediate” response to any “political” step taken by the United States and the three European countries (the United Kingdom, France and Germany).
The United States recently announced that it is preparing a draft resolution with the Europeans to be presented to the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna this week, calling on Iran to cooperate fully and unconditionally with the agency, a move that Tehran rejected in advance.
And if the resolution urging Tehran to “fully cooperate” with the agency is adopted, it would be the first such step to blame Iran since June 2020.
And in April 2021, talks began aimed at reviving the nuclear agreement, with the aim of bringing the United States back to it, lifting sanctions imposed on Iran again and urging it to limit its nuclear activities.
The 2015 agreement made it possible to lift sanctions that were imposed on Iran, in exchange for restricting its nuclear program, but its effects have been canceled since Washington withdrew from it during the era of former US President Donald Trump in 2018 and re-imposed severe sanctions on Tehran, which prompted Iran to retreat from it. its obligations under that agreement.
And the EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, who is coordinating the talks, warned in a tweet last weekend that the chances of returning to the agreement were “diminishing”.
“But we can still achieve that by putting in extra effort,” he added.
Iranian warnings
On the other hand, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said he exchanged views with European official Josep Borrell on the Vienna talks and how to lift sanctions and move forward.
Abdullahian added that whoever pushes for a resolution against Tehran in the International Atomic Energy Agency will be responsible for the consequences.
But he indicated that Tehran welcomes a good, tight and lasting agreement, and this is possible if America and the European trio adopt realism, according to his statement.
In Israel, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Israel preferred the diplomatic path in order to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Bennett – who met the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi last Friday – added that Israel reserves the right to defend itself and act against Iran in order to curb its nuclear program if the international community fails within the relevant time frame.
Grossi’s lightning visit to Israel comes against the background of her filing a complaint against Iran, which the agency will soon consider.