UN Nuclear Watchdog Head Qualifies Claims About Iran’s Commitments on Access to Inspectors

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has been forced to clarify some of the claims he made about commitments he had extracted from Iran over the weekend. During his first press conference after his return from Tehran, Grossi had stated that Iran had pledged to restore all the cameras and other surveillance equipment that it had removed from its nuclear-related sites. However, during Monday’s press conference, he qualified his statement, saying that the issue required further discussion.

Grossi explained that there was no agreement at this point on Iran handing over older footage and data taken by cameras and other equipment at the nuclear-related sites, or on future provision of that footage and data. “There are certain things we need to clarify,” he said. His visit to Tehran came ahead of a meeting of the IAEA board, which is set to discuss a possible further censure of Iran for its failure to cooperate with inspectors.

If the IAEA board passes a highly critical resolution, Iran might again respond by increasing levels of uranium enrichment and stockpiles that are already far in excess of the limits set in the nuclear deal of 2015. Iran could also destroy some of the camera footage it has been storing at nuclear sites but not handing to the UN inspectors, which would further damage the IAEA’s continuity of knowledge about the nuclear program.

Grossi, a highly experienced Argentinian diplomat, has extracted Iranian promises before to restore the inspectors’ previous level of access that European powers and the US feel were not delivered, so the west will want to examine how precise and bankable are the latest set of voluntary commitments that Iran offered Grossi in Tehran. However, a concern is that Tehran is making vague promises to carry it over the hurdle of the IAEA board meeting.

While the US has been preoccupied with Ukraine, it appears not to be in a mood to censure Iran over its nuclear program or to try to restore the stalled nuclear deal. At his press conference, Grossi dismissed public statements by Iranian officials that they would not give him access to key Iranian nuclear scientists, implying that behind the scenes they are sending him different messages. With minimal trust between the west and Iran, the latest commitments made by Iran will need to be thoroughly scrutinized to ensure that they are being met.