UN nuclear watchdog chief presses for more access in Iran

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TEHRAN – The caput of the United Nations' atomic watchdog met Tuesday with Iranian officials to property for greater entree successful the Islamic Republic connected the eve of diplomatic talks restarting implicit Tehran's tattered atomic woody with satellite powers.

Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency yet again faces tightrope-style talks with Iranian officials arsenic his inspectors stay incapable to entree surveillance footage and look greater challenges successful trying to show Tehran's rapidly increasing uranium stockpile. In the aftermath of then-President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal from Iran's deal, the Islamic Republic present enriches tiny amounts of uranium up to 60% purity — its highest ever and adjacent to weapons-grade levels of 90%.

While Iran maintains its programme is peaceful, determination rival Israel has repeatedly warned it won't let Tehran to physique a atomic limb and is suspected of launching attacks targeting its programme arsenic portion of a wider determination shadiness warfare playing crossed the Mideast successful caller years. The U.S. nether President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has said it's consenting to instrumentality to the deal, but has warned clip is moving out.

All this raises the hazard of a wider confrontation with Iran, which has taken a harder tack up of the talks nether caller President Ebrahim Raisi, a protégé of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Writing connected Twitter connected Monday, Grossi said helium hoped to “address outstanding questions” with Iranian officials.

“I anticipation to found a fruitful and cooperative transmission of nonstop dialog truthful the (IAEA) tin resume indispensable verification activities successful the country,” Grossi wrote.

On Tuesday, Grossi went to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the country's civilian atomic agency, for his third-such sojourn since February. He spoke with Mohammad Eslami, the caller caput of the organization. The U.N. successful 2008 sanctioned Eslami for “being engaged in, straight associated with oregon providing enactment for Iran’s proliferation delicate atomic activities oregon for the improvement of atomic limb transportation systems.”

After their talk, Eslami gave televised remarks successful which helium described the ongoing issues arsenic “technical" and not governed by the “political issues and conspiratorial insinuations” of Iran's enemies.

“We agreed contiguous to bring the issues to the end,” helium said, without elaborating. “Iran is determined to usage each aspects of atomic exertion and the bureau volition assistance Iran successful this direction.”

Grossi for his portion described the talks arsenic “intense.”

"We are continuing astatine this constituent our negotiations with a presumption to uncovering communal ground,” Grossi said. He was owed to conscionable Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian afterward.

Under a confidential statement called an “Additional Protocol” with Iran, the IAEA collects and analyzes images from a bid of surveillance cameras installed astatine Iranian atomic sites. Those cameras helped it show Tehran’s programme to spot if it is complying with the atomic deal.

Iran’s hard-line parliament successful December 2020 approved a measure that would suspend portion of U.N. inspections of its atomic facilities if European signatories did not supply alleviation from lipid and banking sanctions by February. Since February, the IAEA has been incapable to entree imagery from those cameras.

Under the deal, the IAEA besides placed astir 2,000 tamper-proof seals connected atomic worldly and equipment. Those seals communicated electronically to inspectors. Automated measuring devices besides provided real-time information from the program. Inspectors arsenic good haven't been capable to entree that data, making the task of monitoring Iran's enriched uranium stockpile that overmuch much difficult.

The bureau besides has sought monitoring of activities astatine a centrifuge parts accumulation tract adjacent bluish metropolis of Karaj. The IAEA has had nary entree determination since June aft Iran said a sabotage onslaught by Israel considerably damaged the installation and an IAEA camera there.

In a abstracted study to IAEA subordinate states earlier this month, the bureau said Grossi besides was acrophobic astir inspectors “being subjected to excessively invasive carnal searches by information officials astatine atomic facilities successful Iran.”

Tuesday's gathering comes up of a wider gathering of the IAEA subordinate states. Iran avoided facing a censure ballot astatine the committee with a akin Grossi sojourn successful September.

Meanwhile successful Israel, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett described Iran’s atomic programme arsenic being successful a “very precocious stage,” without providing details. Ahead of the resumption of atomic talks betwixt planetary powers and Iran, Bennett said helium expects “disagreement with our top of friends.”

“Either way, adjacent with the instrumentality to an agreement, Israel is of people not portion of the agreement. Israel is not bound by it,” helium told a information league successful Herzliya. “We volition support our state to act.”

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Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg successful Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report. Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

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