Grossi: The Death of Raeisi Delayed Iran's Negotiations with the IAEA

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says that the death of Ebrahim Raeisi has delayed nuclear negotiations aimed at improving Iran's cooperation with the agency. Rafael Grossi stated on Wednesday, May 23, during a meeting in Helsinki: "Iran is currently in a period of mourning and we must respect that, but when this period is over, we want to re-engage with Iran to improve cooperation." Rafael Grossi visited Iran on May 6 and discussed ways of cooperation with Islamic Republic officials. After returning from Tehran, he said that the parties had reached a "common understanding" and that Iran had indicated it was ready to work on specific actions. He also mentioned that there are three categories of issues: inspections, remaining issues, and voluntary actions that Iran could undertake. Grossi reported Iran's willingness for "serious negotiations" with the agency. On May 15, in an interview with the Financial Times, he announced that for the first time in over a year, the Islamic Republic had shown serious willingness to engage in dialogue with the agency. He reiterated in the Helsinki meeting that the agency is planning to continue technical negotiations with Iran, but due to the helicopter crash involving Raeisi and his foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, these negotiations have not yet taken place. The IAEA is facing a range of challenges in Iran, from Tehran's obstruction of many of the agency's most experienced experts from entering the country to Iran's continued disregard for the agency's requests for explanations regarding uranium traces found at undeclared sites and the significant increase in Iran's enriched uranium stockpile. Mr. Grossi stated that Iran's stockpile of 60% enriched uranium has reached 140 kilograms, with an addition of 9 kilograms each month. This amount of 60% enriched uranium, if enriched to 90%, would be sufficient to produce three nuclear bombs. Iran claims it is not pursuing nuclear weapons and cites a fatwa from Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, regarding the "forbidden nature of producing and using nuclear bombs" as evidence. However, in recent months, some Iranian officials, including Kamal Kharrazi, head of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and a senior advisor to Ali Khamenei, have stated that if the Islamic Republic is threatened, it will be "forced to change its nuclear doctrine." Mr. Grossi also called for clarification from Iran regarding the origin of the uranium found at undeclared sites and noted that trust in Iran's nuclear program is declining.