IAEA chief says he seeks common ground in Tehran talks to deepen cooperation

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi says he seeks common grounds to deepen mutual cooperation between the UN nuclear agency and Iran, days before the resumption of talks in the Austrian capital city of Vienna on the removal of the United States’ sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

“We agreed to continue our joint work on the clarification of a number of issues. We also agreed to continue and deepen the dialogue with the government of Iran. As you know, I have the honor to meet the [Iranian] foreign minister in a couple of hours,” Grossi said at a joint press conference with head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, in Tehran on Tuesday.

He noted that his work in Tehran has been “intense.”

“We are continuing our negotiations at this point with the view of finding common grounds. There are a number of issues that we are working on. We will multiply our efforts with the view of concluding our exchanges today on a positive note. We are working very hard,” the UN nuclear chief pointed out.

Eslami, for his part, said Iran is determined to pursue its civilian nuclear activities, stressing that Tehran’s nuclear activities are in full compliance with international regulations and treaties.

He stressed that the AEOI is set to resolve technical issues with the IAEA concerning their cooperation, away from the politicization of the matter.

Eslami highlighted that the UN nuclear watchdog has testified that there is no diversion in Iran’s nuclear work and that it will not consider plots hatched by Iran’s adversaries to politicize cooperation between the two sides.