Tehran announced this week its decision to withdraw 27 cameras that allowed international inspectors to monitor its nuclear activities, in response to a Western decision already denouncing Tehran’s lack of co-operation with the UN agency.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) summoned Iran on Sunday to repeat the dialogue “immediately” to prevent a major crisis that would make rescuing the deal on Iran’s nuclear program “extremely complicated.”
Tehran announced this week its decision to withdraw 27 cameras that allowed international inspectors to monitor its nuclear activities, in response to a Western decision already denouncing Tehran’s lack of co-operation with the UN agency.
“As I speak to you, these cameras have been removed, as well as other electronic surveillance systems we had,” IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said in an interview with CNN. It is “very, very serious,” he said.
“Recent history teaches us that it is never good to start saying to international inspectors: ‘go back to your homes’. “When you take this path, things usually go wrong,” he warned.
Grossi called on Iranian leaders to “immediately return to the negotiating table.” “We have to rectify this situation, we have to keep working together,” he said. in the presence of IAEA inspectors “.
Grossi explained that in the absence of these cameras, the IAEA will soon be unable to say whether Iran’s nuclear program continues to be intended for civilian use – otherwise nothing can guarantee that Iran is not building an atomic bomb. . And even if the Iranians reconnect their cameras in a few months, what they will have done during this time will remain a secret, which could make any deal that governs their activities futile.
However, this new escalation comes at a time when the United States and other major powers are working with Iran to salvage the 2015 deal aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from acquiring the weapon.
“By making these decisions, restarting an agreement becomes extremely difficult,” the IAEA chief warned.
The United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018 during the presidency of Donald Trump, who considered it insufficient and reinstated financial sanctions against Tehran. In response, Iran has released key restrictions on its nuclear activities.
Incumbent President Joe Biden says he is ready to return to the deal, provided Iran returns to its commitments. However, the negotiations are facing the last obstacles and seem to be closer than ever to failure.
In a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Saturday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also called for the “success of diplomacy” to salvage the deal, according to a statement issued today.
