Grossi: Iran Must Reach an Agreement on Its Nuclear Activities with the Trump Administration

Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, stated that the Iranian government needs to reach an understanding regarding its nuclear activities with the new U.S. President Donald Trump to prevent another military conflict in the Middle East. Mr. Grossi made this statement to Bloomberg News during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum 2025 in Davos, Switzerland, saying: "We are engaging with Russia, China, and also European countries, but it is clear to everyone that the presence of the United States is necessary." In this interview published on Tuesday, January 22, he added: "What we need is to achieve an understanding. This will be our mission in the coming weeks." With the fragmentation of Iran's proxy groups in Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria, along with the increase of Iran's 60% enriched uranium reserves, concerns about the Iranian government's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons have risen. The Director General of the IAEA confirmed that Iran continues to produce large amounts of highly enriched uranium, emphasizing: "We do not want more wars." He also expressed hope to meet with the U.S. President as soon as possible. During Donald Trump's first term, he pursued a "maximum pressure" policy against the Iranian government and withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear agreement reached during Barack Obama's administration, which imposed restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions. Previously, Marco Rubio, the new U.S. Secretary of State, emphasized on January 16 during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing that "the Iranian government is in its weakest state possible, they had to withdraw from Syria, their economy is shattered, and they experience daily power outages," adding: "We must understand that any concession we give to the Islamic Republic will be used to expand their nuclear program and create tension in the Middle East." He also stated that "under no circumstances should we allow the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue destabilizing the region and pursuing its nuclear program," and added: "By next October, the three powers Germany, Britain, and France must decide whether to activate the trigger mechanism or not." Rubio noted that the Iranian regime operates under two mindsets; one is that conditions are dire and they need to buy time, and the other is that they must rely on nuclear power and enrich uranium from 60% to 90% to gain immunity from any foreign action. In this context, French President Emmanuel Macron recently warned that accelerating Iran's nuclear program brings us "very close to an irreversible point." The Islamic Republic described Macron's remarks as "baseless" and "deceptive." Last December, Britain, Germany, and France, referred to as the European Troika, accused the Iranian government of increasing its enriched uranium reserves to "unprecedented levels" without providing "any credible civilian justification" for this action. These three powerful U.S. allies in Europe emphasized that "we reaffirm our determination to use all diplomatic tools to prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, including the use of the trigger mechanism if necessary." The trigger mechanism, part of the 2015 agreement or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), allows signatories to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran in case of "significant non-compliance". The option to activate this mechanism expires in October this year, adding urgency to ongoing diplomatic efforts.