Iran escapes rebuke at IAEA regardless of no ‘promise’ on open questions

Western powers on Monday scrapped plans for a decision criticising Iran on the UN atomic watchdog after Tehran agreed to delay monitoring of some nuclear actions, despite the fact that the watchdog mentioned Iran made no “promise” on one other key situation.
The determination by the United States, France, Britain and Germany to not push for a decision at this week’s assembly of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors avoids an escalation with Iran that would have killed hopes of resuming wider talks on reviving the Iran nuclear deal.
During a last-minute go to to Tehran this weekend by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, Iran agreed to grant his company overdue entry to its gear in Iran that screens some delicate areas of its nuclear programme. Inspectors will swap out reminiscence playing cards greater than two weeks after they have been due to get replaced.
Grossi mentioned on Sunday that the settlement solved “the most urgent issue” between the IAEA and Iran. He made clear on Monday, nevertheless, that on one other supply of concern – Iran’s failure to elucidate uranium traces discovered at a number of outdated however undeclared websites – he had obtained no agency commitments.
“I did not receive any promise,” Grossi informed a information convention when requested in regards to the uranium traces, the primary of which have been discovered greater than two years in the past at a web site in Tehran that Iran has described as a carpet-cleaning facility.

“What I said there … is that I need to have a clear conversation with the new government about this.”
A joint assertion by the IAEA and Iran on Sunday mentioned Grossi would meet Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami in Vienna subsequent week after which Grossi would “visit Tehran in the near future to hold high level consultations with the (Iranian) government”.
Grossi declined to say extra particularly whom he would meet in Tehran or when.

The purpose of the weekend settlement was to purchase time for wider diplomatic efforts geared toward bringing the United States and Iran absolutely again into the 2015 nuclear deal, which imposed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear actions in return for the lifting of worldwide sanctions in opposition to Tehran.
Pressure
Then-President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear deal in 2018, re-imposing punishing financial sanctions on Iran. Tehran responded as of a yr later by breaching lots of the deal’s restrictions and later enriching uranium to purity ranges a lot nearer to weapons-grade.

Indirect talks between Iran and the United States stopped in June, days after hardliner Ebrahim Raisi was elected president of Iran. Western powers have known as on Iran to return to negotiations, saying time is operating out, whereas Raisi has mentioned Iran is prepared to, however with out Western “pressure”.
“Iran played its cards well,” one Vienna-based diplomat mentioned of the weekend settlement. “The promise to continue high-level discussions on the outstanding issues managed to deflate the pressure for a resolution, even if what Grossi brought back from Tehran was pitifully little.”