The death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash has delayed the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) talks with Tehran, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said, TASS reports.
"They are in a mourning period which I need to respect," he told Reuters. "But once this is over, we are going to be engaging again," Grossi added. He expressed hope that it was a "temporary interruption that I hope will be over in a matter of days."
The IAEA director general visited Iran on May 6-7. He held meetings with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iranian Atomic Energy Organization chief Mohammad Eslami and Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, head of Iran’s delegation to the nuclear deal negotiations. During talks, Grossi proposed a set of practical measures to implement the joint Iran-IAEA statement dated March 4, 2023, which points to Tehran’s intention to allow the agency to carry out monitoring activities and provide it with access to three nuclear facilities. The document also says that "··interactions between the IAEA and Iran will be carried out in a spirit of collaboration, and in full conformity with the competences of the IAEA and the rights and obligations of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Eslami described the talks with Grossi as constructive and said that the parties had decided to take the March statement as the basis for future negotiations. The IAEA chief, in turn, stated that Iran had assured him the country was ready to take specific measures related to control over its nuclear program. Grossi added that he was not satisfied with the current state of talks with Tehran.
