IAEA, Iran Signal Some Progress on Access to Nuclear Program

(Bloomberg) --

The United Nations nuclear watchdog signaled some progress in talks with Iranian officials in Tehran over access to its expanding nuclear program, with prospects for reviving the crippled atomic deal still uncertain. 

It was not immediately clear how much substantial progress was made in talks with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi, who wants to restore expanded access for the agency’s monitors. He was in Tehran ahead of the Vienna-based organization’s board of governors meeting starting Monday.  

Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said Iran agreed to allow nuclear inspectors to replace the memory cards of surveillance cameras at atomic sites after a “constructive” meeting with Grossi. Eslami said the old memory cards will remain in Tehran but cameras will continue to record data with new ones.

“Inspectors are permitted to service the identified equipment and replace their storage media which will be kept under the joint IAEA and AEOI seals in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a joint Iran-IAEA statement said. “The way and the timing are agreed by the two sides.” it added without giving details. 

While the concession is likely to be welcomed by IAEA envoys meeting this week in Vienna, Iran still faces possible censure over its failure to cooperate in an IAEA investigation into uranium traces found at several undeclared locations in Iran. 

The IAEA statement didn’t include any progress on that front and European nations are still holding out the possibility of a rebuke that could eventually send Iran back to the UN Security Council.

Tehran’s government has warned such a move would scuttle any remaining hope of reviving its broader accord with world powers

The nuclear talks, which broke down before Raisi’s election in June, aim to revive a 2015 accord that reined in Iran’s atomic output in return for relief from harsh economic sanctions. Its restoration would allow Iran to return to the global oil market. 

Hardline President Ebrahim Raisi, who was sworn in in August, warned the UN watchdog against “confrontation” earlier this month. 

The agreement unraveled after Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of it in 2018 and resumed sanctions, leading Tehran to breach limits on its nuclear activity that it had adhered to beforehand. IAEA inspectors this week reported that Iran had increased its stockpile of enriched uranium close to the levels needed for weapons and was expanding its production capacity. 

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but doubts about its intentions motivated world powers to seek the original nuclear accord. 

The Biden administration is interested in reviving the deal, with conditions attached, and together with Europe has been trying to coax Iran back to the table as soon as this month. Informal talks are likely on the sidelines of the IAEA’s general conference the week of Sept. 21. 

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