Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi has expressed hope that he will manage to reach an agreement with Iran on the continuation of the IAEA's inspections during his visit to Tehran planned for today
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th February, 2021) Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi has expressed hope that he will manage to reach an agreement with Iran on the continuation of the IAEA's inspections during his visit to Tehran planned for today.
On Monday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry reaffirmed Tehran's intentions to limit the implementation of the Additional Protocol on inspections of its nuclear sites starting February 21. The ministry stressed that this would concern only additional inspections.
"Tomorrow I travel to Tehran to meet with senior Iranian officials to find a mutually agreeable solution, compatible with Iranian law, so that the @IAEAorg can continue essential verification activities in Iran. Looking forward to success - this is in everybody's interest," Grossi wrote on Twitter late on Friday.
In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA) with the United States, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom. It required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief. In 2018, US President Donald Trump abandoned the landmark deal and implemented hard-line policies against Tehran, dubbed Maximum Pressure Campaign. Since Trump's decision to leave the JCPOA, tensions between the US and Iran have escalated, with Iran announcing that it would no longer follow the 2015 nuclear deal.
In November, the Iranian parliament has passed a bill, titled "The strategic measure for the removal of sanctions," designed to allow the country to increase the uranium enrichment level to 20 percent or more � such uranium is considered a weapon-grade one. This step was made despite the restrictions imposed on the country by the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan, which set out the level of Iran's enrichment of uranium at 3.67 percent.
