Grossi to Visit Tehran on Wednesday Night

According to media reports, Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will travel to Iran on Wednesday evening to meet with officials of the Islamic Republic. During this visit, Grossi will meet with Iranian officials, including Masoud Pezeshkian, the head of the Islamic Republic government. The IAEA Director General had previously described Pezeshkian's remarks about Tehran's readiness to engage on the nuclear agreement as a 'breakthrough' for the agency. He stated, 'What I would like to hear from him is his opinion on returning to a framework agreement. In my opinion, this is something we need to do.' Grossi also mentioned that this framework could be based on the JCPOA, but given that Iran has significantly greater capabilities now, it must be much stronger. According to Reuters, he also expressed expectations to cooperate with Donald Trump, the elected President of the United States, to resolve the Iranian nuclear challenge. Iranian officials welcomed Grossi's visit without confirming it and claimed that Tehran is ready to cooperate with the IAEA to resolve existing issues, without providing details. This claim comes amid Tehran's obstruction of IAEA inspectors' presence in Iran and its lack of transparency regarding uranium traces found at undeclared sites in the Islamic Republic, which are among the contentious issues. Following the United States' withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with world powers in 2018 and the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions, the Islamic Republic has ramped up its nuclear activities. Under that agreement, Tehran limited uranium enrichment, which the West views as a covert attempt to develop and expand nuclear weapons capabilities. The Islamic Republic is currently continuing uranium enrichment at 60%, which is very close to the 90% needed for bomb-making. According to the IAEA, the Islamic Republic, if it continues this process, will have enough enriched uranium to produce about four nuclear bombs. However, Iran claims that its nuclear activities are not military and that it enriches uranium for civilian purposes. It remains unclear what approach Donald Trump, the elected President of the United States, will take towards the Islamic Republic upon returning to the White House. On Tuesday, November 15, at a campaign rally, he stated that he wants Iran to be a 'very successful country' but 'cannot have a nuclear weapon.' Before the U.S. presidential elections, signs of Tehran's readiness to negotiate with the European parties to the JCPOA (Britain, France, and Germany) and the U.S. to find a way to revive negotiations in hopes of reducing U.S. sanctions were observed. What is Grossi seeking in his renewed trip to Iran? Mehran Mostafavi explains. Grossi speaks of 'signs of willingness' from the Islamic Republic to cooperate with the IAEA. Reuters: Addressing the nuclear threat from the Islamic Republic is on Trump's agenda. The likelihood of the IAEA Director's visit to Tehran. Grossi: Iran has shown 'signs of willingness' to return to nuclear negotiations. Grossi on the possibility of IAEA inspectors returning to Iran: The opportunity has been missed.