The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, during his visit to Tehran yesterday, secured a "temporary agreement or solution" with Iranian authorities, as later announced. This step alleviated tensions that had surfaced in recent days, especially following a strong report from the agency regarding Iranian obstruction. It is clear that this easing of tensions came in light of evident Russian and European efforts aimed at not derailing the stalled negotiations in Vienna since June, according to the New York Times.
The statements from both the Russian representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, and the European coordinator for nuclear talks, Enrique Mora, serve as clear evidence of these pressing endeavors to revive the diplomatic negotiation process.
Grossi concluded his visit to Iran carrying a solution to be presented today, Monday, at the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna. He will present "new elements" that he believes will be "significant" in current discussions regarding a potential resolution to impose sanctions on Iran, as U.S. patience begins to wear thin.
It is worth noting that the temporary agreement announced by the IAEA in a statement yesterday includes allowing agency inspectors "within a few days" to access monitoring equipment at various Iranian sites and verify their proper functioning, in addition to the possibility of replacing memory cards from monitoring devices and cameras installed at certain nuclear facilities. However, a consensus has yet to be reached regarding uranium traces found at undeclared locations in the country, a crucial point for Western states—especially since some estimates suggest that Iran may be only a month away from achieving the capability to develop a nuclear bomb.
Many experts warn that achieving such knowledge is irreversible, echoing the statements from various American officials, including the special envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, who said that Tehran's continued violations of the nuclear agreement could lead us to a point of no return, making negotiations futile.
