Iran says 'limited opportunity' for nuclear diplomacy as IAEA chief tours sensitive sites

Iran says 'limited opportunity' for nuclear diplomacy as IAEA chief tours sensitive sites
by AFP Staff Writers
Tehran (AFP) Nov 16, 2024

Iran's foreign minister said in an interview on Saturday that an opportunity exists for nuclear negotiations with the West, but that it is "limited".

Abbas Araghchi's comments come after the head of UN nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi visited the Islamic republic and for talks with high-ranking officials.

"There is still an opportunity for diplomacy, although this opportunity is not much, it is a limited opportunity," Araghchi said of Iran's nuclear programme in the interview with state television.

The visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general is seen as one of the last chances for diplomacy before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January.

During his first term between 2017 and 2021, Trump imposed a policy known as "maximum pressure" against Iran.

This included Washington tearing up a deal on Iran's nuclear programme that had been reached under his predecessor, Barack Obama in 2015.

Trump reintroduced heavy sanctions, which the current US administration of Joe Biden has maintained.

The 2015 deal provided for an easing of international sanctions, in exchange for guarantees that Iran does not seek to acquire nuclear weapons -- a charge Tehran has constantly denied it is pursuing.

"Our nuclear path in the next year will be a sensitive and complicated one, but we are prepared for any scenario and conditions," Araghchi said on Saturday.

He said Iran will be ready for both "confrontation" and "cooperation", whichever path the other side decides to follow.

During his visit the IAEA chief held talks with Araghchi as well as with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iran's nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami.

Grossi also toured the key uranium enrichment plants of Natanz and Fordo in central Iran.

His visit comes ahead of a meeting of the IAEA's board of governors later this month at which Britain, France and Germany could propose a new resolution critical of Iran.

In his interview on Saturday, Araghchi warned against such a measure.

"If a resolution is passed against us, it will face reciprocal actions by Iran. We will take new measures in our nuclear programme that they will certainly not like."

Expectations have run high that Trump will take a harder line with Tehran when he takes office in January.

However, The New York Times reported on Thursday that Trump's tech billionaire ally Elon Musk had met the Iranian ambassador to the UN in a bid to defuse tensions.

Araghchi in his interview on Saturday denied that such a meeting had taken place.

"There has been no meeting between the representative of Iran and Elon Musk," he said.

"Now is not the time for such meetings. It is not wise, and there is not a will for it."

IAEA chief tours sensitive Iran nuclear plants
Tehran (AFP) Nov 15, 2024 - The UN nuclear chief toured two Iranian uranium enrichment plants that have been the focus of Western concern on Friday after Tehran said it was ready to address "doubts" about its ambitions.

The visit to Iran by International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi comes after he warned "the margins for manoeuvre are beginning to shrink" over its nuclear programme.

On Friday, Grossi visited the Natanz and Fordo enrichment plants in central Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

He was accompanied by Iran's atomic energy organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, photographs posted by IRNA showed.

Expectations have run high that US President-elect Donald Trump will take a harder line with Tehran when he takes office in January, although the New York Times reported Thursday that his tech billionaire ally Elon Musk had met Iran's ambassador to the United Nations in a bid to defuse tensions.

Neither the Trump transition team nor Iran's mission to the United Nations immediately confirmed the encounter with ambassador Saeed Iravani. The Iranian mission said it had no comment.

During his first term in the White House, Trump unilaterally abandoned a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers and reimposed blistering economic sanctions in a policy of "maximum pressure".

Tehran eventually responded by rolling back its own commitments under the deal, which barred it from enriching uranium to above 3.65 percent.

The IAEA says Iran has significantly expanded its stocks of uranium enriched to 60 percent, a level that has triggered international alarm as it is much closer to the 90 percent level needed for a nuclear warhead.

Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium to 60 percent, the UN agency has said.

- 'Proliferation-sensitive'-

Samuel Hickey of the Washington-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, said Grossi's tour of the two plants was "significant for both technical monitoring and symbolic reasons".

"Natanz serves as Iran's main uranium enrichment facility, while Fordo houses some of its most advanced centrifuges," Hickey said.

Fordo "is among Iran's most proliferation-sensitive sites," he added.

Hickey said that by allowing Grossi to visit the plants Iran "is signalling that the easiest access to these facilities is through diplomatic engagement."

Grossi's visit comes ahead of a meeting of the IAEA's board of governors later this month at which Britain, France and Germany could propose a new resolution critical of Iran.

In talks with the IAEA chief in Tehran on Thursday, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was ready to resolve any "doubts and ambiguities" about its nuclear ambitions.

But in his meeting with Grossi, Iran's nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami threatened instant "countermeasures" if the board adopts an "interventionist resolution".

"Iran wants to both act like it will cooperate so as to undermine support for a harsh board resolution," while also threatening retaliation if the board passes one, Institute for Science and International Security head David Albright told AFP.

The outgoing administration of President Joe Biden expressed scepticism about the show of cooperation by Tehran.

"Ultimately, what we want to see from Iran is actual behavioural change and action, not just signs of something or indications of something," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.