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IAEA and Iran: Good and bad news

Good news. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on August 11 that the IAEA’s deputy director general and head of the Department of Safeguards Massimo Aparo held talks in Tehran that day with Iranian officials. Tehran Times reported that both sides agreed to advance technical discussions and continue the consultations. 

Bad news. Tehran Times also reported that, during the meeting, the ‘Iranian delegation strongly criticized the IAEA’s silence in response to recent attacks—carried out with U.S. support and involvement—against nuclear facilities in Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz.’ Iran demanded ‘corrective measures for its "improper processes" regarding Iran’s nuclear activities’. 
Iran International’s report on August 12 notes ‘Tehran continues to bar IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, accusing him of complicity in the recent attacks.’ 

What is going on here? From the IAEA side, they wish to work with Iran to continue the implementation of its NPT safeguards agreement, resuming Iran’s reporting and IAEA’s inspections, starting with nuclear facilities not militarily attacked, e.g. the Bushehr nuclear power plant. That is aimed at restoring the ‘technical’ level of cooperation required by the safeguards agreement. 
From the Iran side, the highest priority is political/economic, not technical. They want to avoid further military attack by Israel and the U.S., to obtain relief from the U.S. sanctions, and to have Security Council resolution UNSC/RES/2231 (2015) come to its end as scheduled on October 18, 2025, without the ‘snapback’ of UNSC sanctions that the E3 is threatening. Implementing its safeguards agreement with IAEA is for Iran, perhaps, an irritant in comparison, but they are trying to gain some political advantage from it by mixing political accusations against the Director General and the IAEA, meaning its Board of Governors, with technical implementation procedures. That is unfortunate. 

What comes next? Iran better be careful. If it does not get back to properly implementing its safeguards agreement with IAEA, the Director General and the IAEA Board will be obligated to again find Iran in noncompliance. And it is likely the Board would decide to send that finding to the UN Security Council for action.

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