TEHRAN: UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi is expected in Tehran later Friday for discussions with officials after his agency’s inspectors in Iran found uranium particles enriched to just under weapons-grade level.
The visit by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency comes with the Vienna-based organization seeking to get Iran to increase cooperation over its nuclear activities.
A confidential IAEA report said uranium particles enriched up to 83.7 percent — just under the 90 percent needed to produce an atomic bomb — had been detected at Iran’s underground Fordo plant about 100 kilometers south of the capital.
Tehran denies wanting to acquire atomic weapons, and last week said it had not made any attempt to enrich Uranium beyond 60 percent purity, noting that “unintended fluctuations... may have occurred” during the enrichment process.
The discovery came after Iran had substantially modified an interconnection between two centrifuge clusters enriching uranium, without declaring it to the IAEA.
The IAEA tweeted on Thursday that Grossi would “travel to Tehran for high-level meetings at the invitation of Iran’s government.”
Iran’s Fars news agency said the IAEA director general would arrive in Tehran on Friday evening ahead of meetings planned to be held on Saturday.
A diplomatic source said that Grossi would also meet President Ebrahim Raisi to “relaunch the dialogue” on Iran’s atomic work and to “reset the relationship at the highest level.”
The IAEA chief’s visit comes amid deadlock in negotiations on reviving the 2015 deal that promised Iran relief from biting economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities.
These restrictions, including the 3.67 percent enrichment threshold set out in the deal, were intended to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
However, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 under then president Donald Trump and reimposed sanctions, prompting Iran to suspend the implementation of its own commitments under the accord.
Negotiations aimed at reviving the deal — known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA — started in 2021 but have been stalled since last year.
Grossi’s visit is being seen in Iran as another indication that a diplomatic approach to resolving the nuclear standoff is possible.
“It is hoped that this trip will form the basis for greater cooperation and a clearer horizon between Iran and the IAEA,” said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in an interview with CNN that “the window for an agreement on negotiations to lift sanctions is still open, but this window will not be open for ever.”
Depending on the outcome of Grossi’s trip, the United States and the E3 — European powers Britain, France and Germany — will decide whether submit a draft resolution censuring Iran to the IAEA board of governors, which is due to convene next week in Vienna.
In November 2022, Iran was criticized for its lack of cooperation regarding traces of enriched uranium found at three undeclared sites.
Grossi’s last visit to Iran took place in early March 2022, and was focused on the three undeclared sites.
The IAEA said Grossi would hold a news conference upon his return to Vienna late Saturday afternoon.
UN nuclear chief heads to Iran after near weapons-grade Uranium find
https://arab.news/ct58y
UN nuclear chief heads to Iran after near weapons-grade Uranium find
- A confidential IAEA report said Uranium particles enriched up to 83.7 percent — just under the 90 percent needed to produce an atomic bomb
- Grossi would also meet President Ebrahim Raisi to “relaunch the dialogue” on Iran’s atomic work
Syria welcomes US House vote to end ‘Caesar Act’ sanctions
- Representatives back defense bill that includes provisions to scrap wide-ranging sanctions imposed on former leader Bashar Assad
- Syria’s new government says vote is ‘pivotal moment’ for country as it attempts to rebuild its economy
LONDON: A vote by the US House of Representatives in favor of ending tough sanctions on Syria was welcomed by Damascus on Thursday as a “pivotal moment.”
The “Caesar Act” sanctions regime was imposed in 2020 against former President Bashar Assad’s government over the human-rights abuses carried out during the civil war.
The move to repeal the sanctions, seen as a crucial step for the Syrian Arab Republic’s economic recovery, is contained in a wide-ranging defense bill that the lower house of Congress backed on Thursday.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said the vote “paves the way for a broader economic recovery and the return of opportunities long denied to Syrians.”
The ministry described it as a first step toward improving trade flows, and increasing the availability of essential goods, and medical supplies.
The National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, will now pass to the US Senate where a vote is expected to be held by the end of the year.
Assad was forced from power a year ago after a rapid military campaign by opposition forces brought the 13-year conflict to an end.
The new president, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who led the offensive, has made ending Syria’s isolation a priority as he attempts to rebuild the country’s shattered economy.
President Donald Trump said in May that he planned to lift all sanctions on Syria and many have already been removed or suspended.
The Caesar Act, which imposed the toughest restrictions on trade and investment in Syria, requires Congressional approval to be overturned.
Along with repealing the act, the bill requires the White House to provide regular reports confirming that Syria’s government is fighting Daesh militants and upholding religious and ethnic minority rights, Reuters reported.
Syria’s foreign minister, Asaad Al-Shaibani, said the step toward repealing the Caesar Act was a “triumph for justice but also a recognition of the strength and resilience of the Syrian people.”
He said it reflected the success of Syrian diplomacy with the US.
Al-Sharaa has held talks with Trump three times, including an initial meeting in Riyadh in May on the sidelines of a US-GCC summit.
The Syrian president traveled to Washington in September where he was hosted at the White House. Speaking after the meeting, Trump said the US would do “everything we can to make Syria successful.”
During the visit, Syria confirmed that it would join the global coalition against Daesh.
Removing international sanctions on Syria would allow foreign investment to flow into the country, where the cost of rebuilding is estimated to be more than $200 billion.
Syrian Central Bank Gov. Abdulkader Husrieh told Reuters recently that the repeal of US sanctions was “a miracle” and that the economy was growing faster than expected.
The Caesar Act targeted individuals, companies and institutions linked to Assad, and sanctioned foreign entities from funding them.
The legislation was named after a code name given to a Syrian military photographer who smuggled thousands of photos documenting torture and war crimes by the Syrian regime out of the country.
