Iran Says Agreements Reached With IAEA Over Uranium Sites
A spokesman claims Iran has reached agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding three locations where traces of uranium were found.
A spokesman claims Iran has reached agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding three locations where traces of uranium were found.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of Iran's atomic agency told a press conference on Wednesday: “If there will be further questions, we will answer and talk to each other to determine how these issues can be followed up.”
The IAEA discovered three undeclared locations in 2019 with traces of uranium. The locations dated back to before 2003 when Iran had a secret nuclear program. The UN nuclear watchdog has been demanding satisfactory answers about the three sites but so far says Tehran’s explanations have not been technically credible.
The Islamic Republic faced severe international sanctions after the withdrawal of the Trump administration from the 2015 nuclear deal known as the JCPOA.
Tehran is now seeking to revive the nuclear agreement to see the sanctions lifted, but US officials have repeatedly said their focus is not on the revival of the JCPOA at the moment.
Meanwhile, the IAEA confirmed earlier this year that its inspectors had found particles of enriched uranium with a purity of 83.7 percent at Fordow enrichment facility near Tehran.
Its Director General Rafael Grossi also noted that this level of uranium is very close to the purity required to produce nuclear weapons.
However, following a visit to Tehran earlier this month, Grossi said Iran is ready to cooperate on the three locations where traces of uranium were found and agreed to re-install additional monitoring equipment such as cameras at nuclear sites.
Grossi stressed that agreements still need to be discussed and he cannot yet guarantee the success of his negotiations with Tehran.
“They are so far along now, I am not sure at this point they are stoppable,” said Senator John Thune (R-SD) on the sidelines of the Senate weekly bipartisan luncheon on Tuesday.
Being the Whip for the Republican Party in the Senate, he is known to be articulate and measured in his response but when asked about Biden administration policy on Iran, Senator Thune did not mince words.
“A lot of things should have been done earlier [by the Biden administration]. I think like a lot of other national security issues, this administration has been too late to the game and in many cases, they turned a blind eye or a deaf ear to the challenges they face out there,” he said.
Democrats in the Senate have been dismissive about the news of the near weapons grade enrichment by the clerical regime. Asked if Iran’s ability to enrich uranium at 84% purity concerns him, Senator Bernie Sander said it is does but did not elaborate.
Other democratic senators in US Capitol hallways this week were not so eager to talk about it. ”I think we made a big mistake during the previous administration by pulling out of the nuclear deal with Iran,” said Senator Tom Carper (D-DE). “If we remained in that deal, we would not be in this situation.”
Former President Donald Trump pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) almost five years ago and the some Democrats have been sticking to some version of Senator Carper’s sentiments ever since. It sounds like an excuse and it might be a good one for the domestic audience, but it’s not a strategy, nor is it a policy.
The fact is that Iran’s gradual progress in enriching ever higher than what was agreed in the JCPOA has seriously worried the West and regional countries such as Israel and oil-producing Arab countries in Iran’s neighborhood..
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol surprised Americans in January when he said that if the US does not deploy back its tactical nukes to the peninsula, South Korea can “acquire its own nukes”.
Coincidentally, Saudi’s energy minister Prince Abuldaziz bin Salman on the same date told a group of attendees at a mining and industry conference in Riyadh that Saudi Arabia is planning to enrich its domestic stockpile of uranium to ensure that it will be able to “complete the entire fuel cycle.”
Enriching uranium to weapons grade is one thing, putting it in a warhead attached to a ballistic missile that is capable of delivering it to medium and long range targets in a matter of minutes, is another thing.
When asked if the US can realistically slow the Iranian ICBM delivery for nukes, Senator Bill Cassidy told Iran International: “I don’t know if they can stop the formation of a bomb, maybe the need is to stop them from being able to deliver it.”
Stopping Iran from its march towards weapons grade enrichment “exceeds what I know as to our capabilities,” he added.
That means the Republicans believe Iran’s nuclear program is anything but contained. If Iran moves to 90% enrichment capacity, then the million dollar question remains: who can stop the likes of Saudis and South Koreans from going down the same path?
US Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Laura Holgate, in a statement issued at the quarterly board meeting of the agency said, “Iran must clarify this issue immediately. Whether intentional or inadvertent, Iran’s actions continue to intensify tensions and push unprecedented boundaries.”
In February reports emerged, later confirmed by the IAEA that uranium particles enriched to 84 percent were detected at Iran’s underground Fordow enrichment site. The agency’s director general Rafael Grossi visited Iran last weekend and held talks with officials, including President Ebrahim Raisi. A joint statement issued at the end of Grossi’s trip highlighted general commitments made by Tehran to increase its cooperation with the UN watchdog, pending further planning meetings.
As Grossi’s trip immediately preceded the IAEA board meeting, it is not possible for the international community to know about Iran’s intentions of allowing more monitoring access to the agency. Diplomats say that for this reason, Iran might not be censured at the meeting for its violations until the picture becomes clear before the June meeting of the board.
Ambassador Holgate underlined the importance of Grossi’s follow-up work with Tehran. “Should Iran follow through on its reported decision to take up certain transparency measures as conveyed to the Director General, it would be an encouraging sign, but we of course need to see if these steps are, in fact, implemented.”
Iran International’s correspondent in Vienna reported from the IAEA meeting that the agency seeks to interview personnel who were in charge of the enrichment machines when the 84-percent particles were produced. However, Iranian officials declared after Grossi left Tehran that no access will be given to the IAEA to speak with individuals.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price in his daily briefing on Tuesday reiterated Washington’s cautious welcome for Grossi’s agreements with Iran. Price said, “Now, the key point for us is that the joint statement between the IAEA and Iran was important. What will be much more important is the follow-through.”
The spokesperson also reiterated three demands the Biden administration has been underlining in recent weeks. “First, stop killing, stop suppressing your people; second, stop providing UAV technology to Russia; and third, release the wrongfully detained Americans that you have held.”
Talks with Tehran to revive the Obama-era nuclear accord known as JCPOA reached a deadlock last September and since then Washington has repeatedly said that it is not focused on the issue.
Despite its toughening position, critics of talks with Iran insist that the administration must come out and clearly say that the JCPOA is dead, but the White House insists it still thinks diplomacy is the best way to stop Iran’s nuclear program from reaching weaponization.
Many in Congress oppose negotiations with Iran that could result in suspending US sanctions and providing tens of billions of dollars in frozen funds to the Iranian regime.
Senator John Thune told Iran International’s correspondent Tuesday that “The Biden administration has in many cases turned a blind eye to some of the national security challenges we face. A nuclear Iran is certainly on top of that list.” He added that he is “not sure if Iran’s nuclear program is stoppable at this point.”