Iran blames US pressure for nuclear standoff
Iran has accused the United States of obstructing progress on the nuclear issue through pressure exerted on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said on Monday that US pressure on the IAEA is creating obstacles in resolving the nuclear file.
“Grossi says that if Iran wants to resolve its nuclear issue, it must negotiate with the Trump administration, meaning it is the pressure from the US government on the agency that is creating disturbances,” Eslami said at an export technology meeting.
Eslami argued that even the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, which resulted from years of negotiations with various world powers, was ultimately undermined by the US.
He cited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's memoirs as evidence, claiming that he explicitly said in his book that the JCPOA was a loss and that he worked to convince President Donald Trump to withdraw from the agreement.
His remarks come as the IAEA continues to express concerns about its ability to monitor Iran's nuclear activities effectively.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, said, "We are not inspecting at the levels or at the places that we believe we should be inspecting.”
Grossi also highlighted that Iran has accumulated approximately 200 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, a level dangerously close to the 90% needed for weapons-grade material.
While the IAEA has no concrete evidence of an active Iranian nuclear weapons program, something which Tehran also denies, Grossi said this month that Tehran is not fully cooperating with the agency.
“We have not been having the full cooperation of Iran in clarifying a few important things about the past and perhaps the present activities," he said, as around one third of the inspectors remain banned by Tehran.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also called on Iran to definitively renounce nuclear weapons.
