Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi announced on his return from Tehran today, Saturday, that Iran has agreed to resume surveillance cameras at several nuclear sites and increase the pace of inspections. Grossi had previously announced that he had held “constructive” talks with Iranian officials, including in Tehran with President Ebrahim Raisi.
“We have reached an agreement to restart cameras and surveillance systems,” a UN spokesman told reporters at Vienna airport.
He explained that this would happen “very soon” after the technical meeting, while the joint statement with the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization did not elaborate on those details.
He added that it had been decided to double the number of inspections at the Fordow site, where uranium particles were recently found enriched up to 83.7%, close to the threshold needed to develop an atomic bomb.
“This is very important … especially in the context of the possibility of resurrecting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” added Grossi, the official name for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that has stalled since the US withdrew. from him unilaterally in 2018.
He added on this occasion: “We have stopped the leakage of information and the lack of continuity of knowledge, now we can start working again. These are not just words, but a very tangible thing.”
Talks to revive the nuclear deal have stalled since the summer of 2022.
Negotiations began in April 2021 in Vienna between Tehran and the participating states (China, Russia, the UK, France and Germany) with the indirect involvement of the US, but have stalled since August 2022.
The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency is seeking closer cooperation with Iran in its nuclear activities.
