 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 by AFP Staff Writers Vienna (AFP) Sept 11, 2021
The IAEA's chief is to visit Iran on Sunday to try to defuse tension with the West over what the UN watchdog says is Tehran's lack of cooperation in monitoring its nuclear programme. The visit comes before the quarterly meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors next week, with efforts to revive a 2015 deal to halt Iran's nuclear development stalled. Director-General Rafael Grossi will meet the Iranian vice president and the head of the country's nuclear agency, Mohammad Eslami, the UN body said in an emailed statement on Saturday. He is expected to leave in the afternoon, Iranian ambassador to international organisations in Vienna Kazem Gharib Abadi tweeted. Grossi -- on his second trip to Iran this year -- was expected to hold a press conference on his return to Vienna airport around 8:30 pm (18:30 GMT), the statement added. The IAEA made a stark assessment on Iran in a report to member states this week. Since February 23 "the Agency's verification and monitoring activities have been seriously undermined as a result of Iran's decision to stop the implementation of its nuclear-related commitments", the report said. In these conditions, the IAEA's technical capacity to monitor Iran's nuclear programme has "significantly further declined", and its confidence "that it can maintain continuity of knowledge is declining over time", it said. Iranian President Ebrahim Raissi insisted that his country was being "transparent". "Naturally, in the event of a non-constructive approach by the IAEA, it is unreasonable to expect Iran to respond constructively," he said on Wednesday, according to a statement from the presidency. In the meantime, talks begun in April in Vienna, under the aegis of the European Union, to try to resurrect the 2015 international agreement have been suspended since June. No date for a resumption has yet been announced despite repeated calls from the West, which is alarmed by the recent revival of Iran's nuclear programme. Faced with this impasse, the United States is "close" to abandoning its efforts, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday. The US envoy for Iran Robert Malley was in Moscow and Paris from Tuesday to Friday for "consultations" with Russia and the Europeans. He mentioned on Twitter "constructive meetings" with a view to a "rapid return" to the "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action" (JCPOA). The Islamic Republic has gradually freed itself from its nuclear obligations since 2019, in response to the reinstatement of US sanctions by former US President Donald Trump.
Blinken warns US getting 'closer' to giving up on Iran nuclear deal Ramstein, Germany (AFP) Sept 8, 2021 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Wednesday that time was running out for Iran to return to a nuclear deal after a scathing report by the UN atomic watchdog and Tehran's signals that it would take a while to return to talks. The IAEA released a strongly-worded report Tuesday saying monitoring tasks in Iran have been "seriously undermined" after Tehran suspended some of the UN agency's inspections of its nuclear activities. After ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi took over as new presiden ... read more
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
