The recent agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) may facilitate a smooth return to the "previous situation," while also creating a more favorable atmosphere for diplomacy, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2021) The recent agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) may facilitate a smooth return to the "previous situation," while also creating a more favorable atmosphere for diplomacy, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in Tuesday.
"Of course, this is far from an ideal situation but we need to recognize that we are confronted with a new reality," Grossi said. "It is our conviction that in doing what we did, we can facilitate a smooth return to the previous situation, if that is possible, after the consultations that are going to take place. And most of all, I think we facilitated an easier atmosphere and time for the indispensable diplomacy that will be deployed in the next few days."
Iran and IAEA agreed over the weekend to prolong inspections of the country's nuclear facilities in a limited capacity. Iran had previously threatened to suspend all inspections by February 23 if the US sanctions against the Islamic Republic were not lifted by Monday.
Iran had earlier set a deadline for the United States to lift the sanctions imposed by the previous Trump administration. Current President Joe Biden had conditioned the lifting of sanctions with Iran halting uranium enrichment. The Biden administration said it was reviewing the positions regarding Iran left by the Trump administration.
In 2015, Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union signed the nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The JCPOA stipulates the removal of international sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran scaling down its nuclear program. In 2018, the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran. Tehran responded by gradually abandoning its own commitments under the accord.
In December, Iran passed a law to increase its uranium enrichment and stop IAEA inspections of its nuclear sites in a bid to achieve the removal of the re-imposed sanctions. Iran's atomic energy organization announced in January that the country had succeeded in enriching uranium at 20 percent at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant.
