“It is imperative to find ways to reach diplomatic solutions,” Grossi said in an interview with AFP ahead of his visit to Iran. He stressed the need for “greater clarity” over Iran’s nuclear program.
The head of the IAEA also shared with CNN on November 12 that Iran "has a lot of nuclear material that can be used to make nuclear weapons." But he also affirmed, "at this time, Iran does not have nuclear weapons."
European powers are pushing for a new anti-Iran resolution from the United Nations nuclear watchdog next week to pressure Tehran to cooperate on the nuclear issue, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. The resolution risks further escalating diplomatic tensions with Iran.
The new resolution would task the IAEA with a “comprehensive report” on Iran’s nuclear activities beyond its regular quarterly reports, which would be more detailed and focused on issues such as Iran’s continued failure to explain traces of uranium found at undeclared sites.
Grossi's trip to Iran comes after Donald Trump was re-elected to the White House. The Iran nuclear deal was reached in 2015 under US President Barack Obama after 21 months of negotiations. The deal eased international sanctions on Iran in exchange for guarantees that it would not seek nuclear weapons. However, Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal in 2018 and reimposed US sanctions on Iran. A year later, Iran began gradually reducing its commitments under the nuclear deal, which only allowed Tehran to enrich uranium to 3.65% purity.
According to the IAEA, Iran has significantly increased its stockpile of enriched uranium to 60%, close to the 90% level needed to develop an atomic bomb. In that context, during his visit to Iran, Mr. Grossi will have "high-level meetings with the Iranian government" and conduct "technical discussions on all aspects".
The foundations of Iran’s nuclear program date back to the late 1950s, when the United States signed a civil cooperation agreement with then-Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In 1970, Iran ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which requires signatory states to declare and place nuclear material under IAEA control.
However, with Iran threatening to retaliate against Israel after its latest missile attacks, some lawmakers in Iran have called on the government to review its nuclear doctrine in order to pursue nuclear weapons. Iran maintains a policy against possessing nuclear weapons, insisting that its nuclear activities are purely peaceful.
