VIENNA —
The UN atomic energy watchdog chief said Tuesday that he was “extremely
concerned” about Iran’s lack of cooperation as the
EU seeks to unblock talks to
revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
اضافة اعلان
Talks between
world powers and Iran have stalled since mid-March as negotiators seek to
return to the landmark accord that curtailed the Islamic republic’s nuclear
program in exchange for sanctions relief.
EU diplomat
Enrique Mora, who chairs the negotiations, will visit Tehran this week, Iran
announced Monday, as the US — which is seeking to come back to the deal it
unilaterally left in 2018 — voiced hope for progress.
The
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is “trying to clarify a number of still open
matters with Iran”, agency head Rafael Grossi told a European Parliament
committee.
“I am referring to
the fact that we, in the last few months, were able to identify traces of
enriched uranium in places that had never been declared by Iran as places where
any activity was taking place,” he said.
“The situation
does not look very good.
Iran, for the time being, has not been forthcoming in
the kind of information we need from them... We are extremely concerned about
this,” he said.
The IAEA and Iran
announced in March that they had agreed an approach for resolving issues
crucial to reviving the 2015 nuclear accord.
At the time, Grossi
said the UN agency and Iran had “decided to try a practical, pragmatic
approach” to overcome “a number of important matters”.
Some documents are
to be exchanged between the two sides by May 22.
The aim is to
settle outstanding questions that the IAEA has about the past presence of
nuclear material at undeclared sites in Iran.
Iran “should be at
the top of our preoccupations in spite of the drama that is unfolding in the
Ukraine,” Grossi said on Tuesday, referring to Russia’s invasion of its
neighbor.
He said talks to
revive the nuclear deal were “at a sort of pause” but the Vienna-based IAEA was
“of course still hopeful that some agreement is going to be reached within a
reasonable timeframe”.
“Although we have
to recognize that the window of opportunity could be closed anytime,” he added.
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