End of Waiting for the IAEA Board of Governors Meeting
The end of waiting for the IAEA Board of Governors meeting. According to Iranian Gate, we must wait to see the outcome of Grossi’s visit to Tehran and the evaluation and reflection of the negotiations between Iranian officials and the International Atomic Energy Agency in his report today. The Director General of the Agency is presenting this report simultaneously with the start of this session’s Board of Governors meeting, which seems likely to be accompanied by the issuance of a new resolution unless the results of Grossi’s visit differ from the discussions presented by Iranian officials.
Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, recently visited our country to meet with high-ranking officials and negotiate on the disputed issues between Iran and the Agency. This visit is considered important and crucial due to its proximity to the seasonal Board of Governors meeting and the potential influence of the Director General’s report on this meeting.
Typically, Tehran would condition the visit of Agency officials to Tehran on the final statement of the Board of Governors meeting, but this time it did not act in this manner. However, the results of this visit indicate that there is still a long way to go to reach a coherent and calculated agreement between the parties.
While according to the report provided by Rafael Grossi, Iran and the Agency had reached a logical solution regarding the Agency inspectors’ access to the desired sites, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for our Atomic Energy Organization, indicates that this is not an agreement on which all Tehran officials have consensus. Furthermore, discussions in media close to the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council have gone further, denying all the matters Grossi described as achievements of the visit.
It appears that the complexities and tensions between Iran and the Agency remain intact, despite Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, stating upon leaving Tehran and upon arrival at Vienna airport that inspections at the Fordow site will increase by 50% and surveillance equipment for nuclear activities will be reinstalled at several locations.
Nevertheless, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for our Atomic Energy Organization, refutes this regarding the discussions about granting access to individuals in the talks between Iran and the Agency. He states that during the two days Rafael Grossi and his delegation were in Iran, the issue of access to individuals was never raised, and no document was written indicating this. He said that even if such a request had been made, they would have certainly opposed it.
Rejection of Grossi’s Claim of Increased Inspector Access
The end-of-year 1401 visit by Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was finally conducted after months of consultations and exchanges between Iranian officials and this international organization. According to a Western diplomatic source quoted by French news agency, Grossi met with Ebrahim Raisi to resume discussions on Iran’s nuclear program and restore relations to the highest levels. This news source also stated that increasing inspections and access to the Fordow site were among the Director General’s objectives for his visit to Tehran.
On this matter, Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said, ‘We agreed with Iran to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency access to information and locations. What is important is that we have access to inspections, individuals, and materials, which is a change.’
The change Grossi refers to was presented differently just a few hours later by Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization. He emphasized that no discussion with Mr. Grossi about Agency access to individuals or the three alleged sites took place, sites where Agency inspectors reportedly observed traces of enriched uranium in 2020, and given previous access to these locations, there was essentially no need for further access.
The increase in inspections at the Fordow site was another topic accompanied by differing statements from Iranian and Agency officials. While Rafael Grossi says that inspections at the Fordow site will increase by 50% and surveillance equipment for nuclear activities will be reinstalled at several locations, Kamalvandi emphasizes that for the first time, 60% enrichment had begun at the Fordow complex.
According to the safeguards approach, inspections should have increased because, fundamentally, with the increase in enrichment levels or the entry of more sensitive materials into the facility, the number of inspections increases by mutual agreement. Based on this, the number of inspections at Fordow had previously been eight, which increased to 11 considering the higher enrichment level.
However, the strange point is the claim by Noor News, a media outlet close to Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary General of the Supreme National Security Council, which even denies the smallest agreements made during Grossi’s visit to Tehran, writing that the most important outcome of the Director General’s visit to Tehran was reaching a common model for accelerating safeguards cooperation within the framework of Iran’s duties and the Agency’s legal powers while adhering to the Strategic Action Law of the Parliament. The news about access to individuals and the three alleged sites or the installation of new cameras is false.
Contradictory Statements
Assuming that Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency had reached a logical and correct framework for their differences during the recent visit of the Director General, where do these contradictions in statements from our country’s officials and the Agency originate? If all the issues expressed by Grossi were merely the Director General’s delusions from discussions with various officials and personalities such as the President, the Foreign Minister, and the Head of the Atomic Energy Organization, then why was he so pleased and satisfied with the achievements of this visit, and why did he state upon arrival at Vienna airport that a clear understanding on continuing cooperation to resolve safeguards issues had been reached?
He also mentioned that a general framework for moving forward had been obtained, as stated in the joint statement by the International Atomic Energy Agency and our Atomic Energy Organization. Unfortunately, the level of disagreement among Iranian officials within the country on one hand and with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the other is so high that we must await the potential outcomes of this on today’s Board of Governors meeting. The seasonal Board of Governors meeting will be held from tomorrow, Monday, March 6, in Vienna.
Interestingly, the only part of Grossi’s statements that was not accompanied by a denial from our officials was related to Iran’s 84% enrichment. He said about the discovery of 84% enriched uranium particles that it is important to note that no production or accumulation of enriched uranium at this level has occurred. This is very important, and people should not be misled.
In any case, it seems we can observe the assessment and reflection of the negotiations between Iranian officials and the International Atomic Energy Agency in Rafael Grossi’s report today, coinciding with the start of this session’s Board of Governors meeting, which seems likely to be accompanied by the issuance of a new resolution unless the results of Grossi’s visit differ from the discussions presented by Iranian officials.