UNITED NATIONS: UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday he had sensed a greater willingness by Iranian officials to engage with the agency in a more meaningful way after talks in New York, and that he hoped to travel to Tehran in October.
Several long-standing issues have dogged relations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, including Tehran’s barring of uranium-enrichment experts on the inspection team and its failure for years to explain uranium traces found at undeclared sites.
Grossi held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, one of the key architects to the 2015 accord that limited Iran’s ability to enrich uranium in return for a lifting of Western sanctions, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. “What I see is an expressed willingness to re-engage with us in a more meaningful fashion,” Grossi told Reuters in an interview.
With nuclear diplomacy largely stalled between the Iranian presidential election and the US one on Nov. 5, Iranian and European officials have met in New York to test their mutual willingness to reduce tensions amid Tehran’s disputed nuclear program, its role in Ukraine and mounting regional tensions.
Grossi said he wanted to make real progress in restoring proper technical discussions with Iran quickly and was aiming to travel to Tehran in October to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“Of course now we have to give content and substance to this because we are not starting from zero. We have had relatively protracted process without replies to some of the questions we have,” he said.
“We also need to calibrate together with them how we go through this period where they are waiting to see what is going to happen with their other partners, starting with the United States.”
IAEA board resolutions ordering Iran to cooperate urgently with the investigation into the uranium traces and calling on it to reverse its barring of inspectors have brought little change, and quarterly IAEA reports seen by Reuters on Aug. 29 showed no progress.
Development of Iran’s nuclear program has also advanced. By the end of the quarter, the latest IAEA reports showed Iran had completed installation of eight new cascades at Fordow but still not brought them online.
At its larger underground site at Natanz, which is enriching to up to 5 percent purity, it had brought 15 new cascades of other advanced models online.
“Iran has kept a regular pace without accelerating too much, but it continues,” Grossi said, adding that the Fordow cascades remained offline.
Iran has stepped up nuclear work since 2019, after then-US President Donald Trump abandoned an agreement reached under his predecessor Barack Obama.
When asked about the prospects of a revival of nuclear talks, Grossi said the preparatory work needed to start now, notably for the IAEA to get the necessary clarity on Iran’s activities since it reduced cooperation with the agency.
“I think we need to, or the ambition should be to get results in a different way, because the old way is simply not going to be possible anymore,” he said, adding that he foresaw a more active role for the agency.
IAEA chief sees willingness from Iran to re-engage on nuclear file
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IAEA chief sees willingness from Iran to re-engage on nuclear file
- IAEA board resolutions ordering Iran to cooperate urgently with the investigation into the uranium traces
UK slaps sanctions on Sudan RSF paramilitary deputy, other commanders
- The Foreign Office in London said those targeted include RSF second-in-command Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo
- They are accused of “mass killings, systematic sexual violence and deliberate attacks on civilians”
LONDON: The UK Friday imposed sanctions on senior commanders of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) suspected of “heinous violence” in the Darfur hub of El-Fasher, which the paramilitary group captured in October.
The Foreign Office in London said those targeted include RSF second-in-command Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, whose brother Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo is the group’s leader, as well as three other commanders.
They are accused of “mass killings, systematic sexual violence and deliberate attacks on civilians” when the RSF dislodged the Sudanese army from El-Fasher, its last stronghold in the western Darfur region.
They now face UK asset freezes and travel bans.
The government said the RSF’s actions in El-Fasher were “not random” but instead “part of a deliberate strategy to terrorize populations and seize control through fear and violence.”
It added satellite imagery showed evidence of mass graves where victims have been burned and buried, and the sanctions send “a clear message that those who commit atrocities will be held to account.”
The European Union last month also slapped sanctions on Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo.
In a statement unveiling the UK curbs, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the atrocities taking place in Sudan “are so horrific they scar the conscience of the world.”
“The overwhelming evidence of heinous crimes — mass executions, starvation, and the systematic and calculated use of rape as a weapon of war — cannot and will not go unpunished,” she added.
“The UK will not look away, and we will always stand with the people of Sudan.”
Minni Minawi, the army-aligned governor of Darfur, welcomed the UK sanctions “as an important step toward holding accountable those responsible for the crimes and violations witnessed in Sudan in recent times.”
But he added the measures “remain incomplete” unless they also target Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo, “as he is the decision-maker and the direct architect of the violence system.”
London also announced Friday £21 million ($28 million) in additional aid to provide food, clean water, health care, and protection for women and children in areas of Sudan hardest hit by violence.
It said the financial package took UK aid spending in Sudan this year to £146 million.
