DUBAI: United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi will visit Iran “probably soon,” the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday, as Tehran and world powers are set to resume talks about the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal.
“Grossi has been invited to travel to Tehran. A date has been set in this regard and we are waiting for his response to the specified date. He will visit Iran probably soon,” Saeed Khatibzadeh told a weekly news conference.
“God willing, Grossi will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization during his visit.”
Khatibzadeh did not specify whether Grossi’s trip will take place before next week’s meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) 35-nation Board of Governors.
Western powers scrapped plans in September for a resolution criticizing Iran at the IAEA after Tehran agreed on Sept. 12 to prolong monitoring of some nuclear activities and invited Grossi to Tehran for talks on outstanding issues.
But still they demand Tehran’s action on two central issues — explaining uranium traces found at three undeclared sites and granting IAEA inspectors access to the TESA Karaj centrifuge component manufacturing workshop to replace its cameras.
The workshop was the victim of apparent sabotage in June in which one of four IAEA cameras there was destroyed. Iran has not returned that camera’s “data storage medium” and the IAEA said it had asked Iran to locate it and explain.
An escalation between Tehran and the agency over the unresolved matters could undermine talks between Tehran and powers that will resume on Nov. 29 on reviving their 2015 nuclear deal.
Negotiations to salvage the pact, which started in April, were halted after the June election of hard-line Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
After US President Donald Trump abandoned the deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran, which has gradually breached the deal by rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
Despite six round of indirect talks, Tehran and US President Joe Biden’s administration still disagree on which steps need to be taken and when, with the key issues being what nuclear limits Tehran will accept and what sanctions Washington will remove.
Iran says IAEA’s Grossi to visit Tehran ‘probably soon’
https://arab.news/c5h5v
Iran says IAEA’s Grossi to visit Tehran ‘probably soon’
- Western powers scrapped plans in September for a resolution criticizing Iran at the IAEA
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants to Iraq
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension.
“Our forces affirm their commitment to the agreement and their dedication to respecting it, which contributes to de-escalation, the protection of civilians, and the creation of the necessary conditions for stability,” the group said in a statement.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdish-led force called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
The end of the truce came as government forces have been sending reinforcements to Syria’s northeast.
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group who are held in northeastern Syria. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq.
On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
