Hopes and fears of Grossi’s trip to Tehran
According to Iran Gate’s report, Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, finally arrived in Tehran on Saturday, March 3rd. This trip takes place amidst the tensions between Iran and the agency, as well as the release of Grossi’s recent report regarding Iran’s 18-fold increase in enriched uranium stockpile limit under the JCPOA. The latest report by the agency also reveals the discovery of enriched uranium up to 7.83%, prompting Iran to provide clarification on this level of enrichment.
Iran has explained that this issue is very natural and a minor matter. However, just before Grossi’s trip to Tehran, Laura Rozen referred to Robert Malley’s recent statements in an article on the Diplomatic website, stating that the United States is waiting for the results of Rafael Grossi’s visit to Iran before determining the next steps.
Based on this report, the financial representative of the United States in Iran affairs stated in a meeting with experts from the J Street Institute, a centrist left-wing pro-Israel group, on Friday that the Director General is on the verge of going to Iran. He has not yet released his report on Iran’s compliance or non-compliance with the NPT. Let’s wait for that and then we will see what appropriate actions to take.
The financial representative continued, we are in very close contact with E3 and others around the world who are concerned about Iran’s nuclear programs, and at that stage, we will decide on the financial statement regarding the accuracy of the Wall Street Journal report, which claimed that there was a disagreement between the United States and the Europeans on whether Iran should be criticized in the IAEA Board of Governors meeting for the discovery of 84% enriched uranium in the Fordow underground facility or not. The financial representative said that the United States is still awaiting a more comprehensive assessment by the IAEA on this matter.
The special representative of the United States for Iran affairs stated that regardless of what we do, our concerns about Iran still exist and will not disappear. One of our concerns is Iran’s lack of cooperation with the agency, and there are still some unanswered questions that they have repeatedly avoided answering. We need an explanation regarding the discovery of enriched uranium particles at around 84%, and we are waiting for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s evaluation and many other issues that the agency will address.
He continued, therefore, let’s not rush into making a decision about what we will or will not do. Let’s see what report the International Atomic Energy Agency presents, and then we will have sufficient time to decide on the appropriate next steps. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency tweeted on Friday that Director General Grossi will travel to Tehran for high-level meetings at the invitation of the Iranian government and will return to Vienna by the end of Sunday. When asked about Grossi’s expectations from Iran, he said he would leave it to the agency to answer.
He said it depends on the International Atomic Energy Agency, financially, referring to the fact that last week a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency, led by Massimo Aparo, Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, visited Iran. I am confident that they have raised some requests, and we will see if Iran is ready to demonstrate transparency or not.
The collaboration they have been working on for a long time has ultimately been unsuccessful, financially. I don’t want to speak for the Director General. It is truly his job and his responsibility, and we have full confidence in his professionalism, so we don’t dictate to him what he should ask for or whether he is satisfied or not.
The United States is awaiting the outcome of the negotiations.
But what is the meaning of the statements made by US officials and other authorities in the past week? Today, America wants neither the JCPOA nor an increase in tension between Iran and the Agency, and consequently the West. Although Europeans have consistently been a few steps ahead of the US in relation to Iran in recent months and are seeking resolutions against Iran in this week’s meeting of the Council of Governors, the Americans are pursuing a tactical and specific cooperation between Iran and the Agency. Their overall policy is not focused on the JCPOA and their approach is to refrain from escalating tensions until the end of Grossi’s trip, which is also evident in their financial discussions.
Regarding the fact that America does not want the JCPOA, it is necessary to emphasize the repeated statements of Washington officials on this matter, that the JCPOA is not on their agenda. However, although they do not want the JCPOA, they also want to prevent the escalation of the crisis. Therefore, they are not willing to eliminate the limited channels of cooperation between Iran and the Agency. In this regard, an unexpected report by the Agency was published before Grossi’s trip to Tehran, so that Iran would enter into negotiations under pressure with the Director-General.
However, Robert Malley has also emphasized the pressure and suspension situation and has said that we have not yet decided to issue a resolution, and everything depends on Grossi’s trip. If Grossi’s trip to Iran has any results, it will likely prevent the escalation of the crisis, and Iran will also prevent the issuance of a resolution at the Board of Governors meeting.
On Monday night, Lawrence Norman, a Wall Street Journal reporter, tweeted about three possible outcomes of this trip. These three possible options are a comprehensive agreement on safeguards, an agreement on the frequency and repetition of inspections in Natanz and Fordow, and an inconclusive trip. If the third scenario predicted by Norman comes true and this trip is inconclusive, Western members of the Board of Governors will put a new resolution against Iran on the agenda for Tuesday, March 6, after Grossi leaves Tehran on Sunday night.
What is Grossi seeking?
Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, arrived in Tehran yesterday afternoon as the head of a high-ranking delegation from the agency. Grossi’s trip is in response to an invitation from Mohammad Eslami, the Deputy President and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. Grossi was officially welcomed by Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson and Deputy Head of International Legal and Parliamentary Affairs of the Atomic Energy Organization.
In addition to negotiating with the head of the Atomic Energy Agency, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency also met with other high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran during his two-day trip. On Thursday night, the French news agency reported, citing its sources, that Grossi may have also had a meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. After conducting meetings and negotiations with Iranian officials, the Director General of the agency left Tehran for Vienna on Saturday afternoon, 13th of Esfand.
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