Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will meet International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi in Geneva on Monday, a day before a second round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States is due to take place.
Tehran and Washington resumed negotiations earlier this month in an effort to revive diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear programme and avert further military escalation, as the United States deploys additional naval forces to the region, including a second aircraft carrier.
Araqchi said he had arrived in Geneva with “real ideas” for a fair and equitable agreement, adding that Iran would not accept negotiations conducted under threat. Talks remain deadlocked over uranium enrichment, with the United States pressing for broader discussions that include Iran’s missile programme, while Tehran insists the negotiations focus solely on nuclear curbs in exchange for sanctions relief and has rejected a complete halt to enrichment.
The IAEA has repeatedly called on Iran to clarify the status of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and to allow inspections to fully resume, including at sites damaged in Israeli-US strikes last June. Iran says the affected facilities are currently unsafe for inspections and has urged the agency to clarify its position on the strikes.
Source: commonspace.eu with Al-Monitor
