UN Atomic Agency Head To Visit Iran As Nuke Talks Uncertain

The head of the U.N.’s atomic watchdog is making plans to visit Iran before the end of next month amid questions about whether Iran will return to negotiations aimed at reviving the languishing 2015 nuclear deal.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said Tuesday he intends to visit Tehran “soon” to discuss and hopefully resolve specific concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran is in violation of several aspects of the 2015 deal that the IAEA is charged with monitoring and has suspended some elements of other cooperation with the watchdog.

On a visit to Washington, Grossi told reporters that he expects to go to Iran before the next meeting of the IAEA board of governors in late November.

Some countries are pushing for the board to condemn Iran’s nuclear activity, including violations of the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA.

Grossi, who met on Monday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, would not predict whether the IAEA board would take such action, saying it will likely depend on what Iran does in the meantime.

Grossi’s visit to Tehran has not yet been scheduled but his comments came as world powers are stepping up pressure on Iran to return to talks intended to bring both Iran and the United States back into compliance with the deal.

Since former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear deal and began a “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran by reimposing severe sanctions, Tehran has been blowing through limits on uranium enrichment and the use of advanced centrifuges.

In addition, IAEA surveillance cameras at least one sensitive nuclear site have been dismantled, destroyed or damaged.