IAEA Deputy Holds Talks in Tehran as Senior Iranian Envoy Offers Conditional Nuclear Concessions By The Media Line Staff A senior official from the UN nuclear watchdog met with Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday, marking the first high-level contact between the sides since Iran suspended cooperation with the agency in June, state media reported. […]
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The Media Line: IAEA Deputy Holds Talks in Tehran as Senior Iranian Envoy Offers Conditional Nuclear Concessions
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IAEA Deputy Holds Talks in Tehran as Senior Iranian Envoy Offers Conditional Nuclear Concessions
By The Media Line Staff
A senior official from the UN nuclear watchdog met with Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday, marking the first high-level contact between the sides since Iran suspended cooperation with the agency in June, state media reported.
Massimo Aparo, deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), held talks with representatives from Iran’s Foreign Ministry and nuclear program. According to Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, discussions centered on creating a “future framework for cooperation” following Tehran’s decision to halt collaboration. He said both sides agreed to maintain consultations.
Gharibabadi also criticized the IAEA for what he described as a failure to respond to “aggression” against Iran’s nuclear program, and called for reforms to the agency’s “flawed processes.” In late June, Iran’s parliament voted to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, accusing Israel and the United States of carrying out attacks on its nuclear facilities and killing scientists earlier that month.
The suspension came amid a surge in regional violence, including Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites on June 13, US strikes on Iran’s Natanz, Fordo, and Isfahan facilities on June 22, and Iranian retaliatory missile and drone attacks on Israel and a US air base in Qatar. A ceasefire between Iran and Israel took effect on June 24.
In a separate development, senior Iranian diplomat Majid Takht-Ravanchi told Japan’s Kyodo News that Tehran is willing to accept certain limits on uranium enrichment in exchange for lifting international sanctions. However, he stressed that halting enrichment entirely is “nonnegotiable.”
“Iran can be flexible on the capacities and limits of enrichment, but cannot agree to stop enrichment under any circumstance because it’s essential, and we need to rely on ourselves, not on empty promises,” said Takht-Ravanchi, who serves as deputy foreign minister for political affairs.
He added that Iran is prepared to resume nuclear talks with the United States but only if Washington makes clear whether it seeks “win-win dialogue” or intends to impose its own terms. The US has repeatedly demanded a complete end to enrichment, a stance Iran has firmly rejected.