Talks between Iran and the US over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program are “in a very crucial” stage, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog said on Thursday while on a visit to the Islamic Republic.
The comments by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi included an acknowledgment his agency would likely be key in verifying compliance by Iran should a deal be reached. Iran and the US are to meet again today in Rome for a new round of talks after last weekend’s first meeting in Oman.
Grossi’s visit also coincided with Saudi Arabian Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman’s, the highest-ranking official from the kingdom to visit Iran since the two countries reached a Chinese-mediated detente in 2023. That is as Saudi Arabia tries to end its decade-long war against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen — even as new, intense US airstrikes target them.
Photo: Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program if a deal is not reached, while Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
“I’m not in a rush to do it, because I think that Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death — and I’d like to see that, that’s my first option,” Trump said during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office when asked about a possible attack.
Grossi arrived in Iran on Wednesday night and met with Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi, who is now in Moscow for separate talks likely over the negotiations.
On Thursday, Grossi met with Atomic Energy Organization of Iran head Mohammad Eslami, then later toured a hall featuring some of Iran’s civilian nuclear projects.
“We know that we are in a very crucial, I would say, stage of this important negotiation, so I want to concentrate on the positive,” Grossi told Iranian media.
“There is a possibility of a good outcome. Nothing is guaranteed. We need to make sure that we put all of the elements in place ... in order to get to this agreement,” he said.
“We know we don’t have much time. So this is why I’m here. This is why I’m in contact with the United States as well,” he added.
Eslami said Iran expected the IAEA to “maintain impartiality and act professionally,” a report from the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said.
Since the nuclear deal’s collapse in 2018 with Trump’s unilateral withdrawal of the US from the accord, Iran has abandoned all limits on its program and enriches uranium to up to 60 percent purity — near weapons-grade levels of 90 percent.
Surveillance cameras installed by the IAEA have been disrupted, while Iran has barred some its most experienced inspectors. Iranian officials also have increasingly threatened that they could pursue atomic weapons, something the West and the IAEA have been worried about for years since Tehran abandoned an organized weapons program in 2003.
Grossi in an interview with a French newspaper said that “Iran has enough material to build not one but several bombs.”
“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle; they’ve got the pieces and one day they might be able to put them together,” he told Le Monde. “There’s still a long way to go before that happens. But they’re not far off, admittedly.”
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric called the upcoming Iran-US talks a “a good sign.”
“We very much hope that the dialogue between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran yields a positive outcome which will see the lowering of tensions in the Gulf region, in the Middle East and between the two countries,” he said.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS