US Responds to President Pezeshkian's Promise to Grossi: We Demand 'Concrete Action' from Iran

The spokesperson for the US State Department reacted to the Iranian President's promise to the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding Iran's readiness to 'clarify ambiguities and doubts' in its nuclear program, stating that the US demands concrete action from Iran. Vedant Patel, spokesperson for the Biden administration, emphasized on Thursday, November 24, that the United States seeks 'behavior change and concrete action' from the Islamic Republic. He stated that they want to ensure that Iran will never acquire a nuclear bomb and are pursuing this goal through various means, keeping all options on the table. He clarified that the US expectation from Iran is a change in behavior and real action, not just signals or indications from Islamic Republic officials regarding the nuclear program. On the same day, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met with Rafael Grossi, the IAEA Director General, and announced that Tehran is ready to cooperate and align with the international agency to 'clarify ambiguities and doubts' surrounding Iran's nuclear activities. Pezeshkian also claimed that the Islamic Republic is 'exactly' seeking the frameworks and legal permissions of the IAEA in its nuclear technology. Grossi stated that 'technical inspections' of nuclear facilities are not negotiable. Pezeshkian's promise to clarify ambiguities comes despite the fact that the Islamic Republic has made similar promises to Grossi multiple times over the past few years. In March 2022, during Grossi's visit to Tehran, Iran agreed to respond to the agency's questions about the origin of uranium at undeclared sites and other ambiguities, but after a long delay, the Islamic Republic claimed in May during Grossi's visit that an agreement had been reached regarding resolving disputes and implementing the March 2022 agreement, a matter that has yet to be realized. Prior to his trip to Tehran on Wednesday, Grossi had repeatedly criticized the Islamic Republic for its lack of cooperation and reiterated at a press conference on Thursday in Tehran that 'inspections constitute a chapter of our relations that is not negotiable and must be carried out, but the next chapter of technical cooperation should be conducted in the form of interaction.' Meanwhile, Reuters reported yesterday, citing several diplomats, that European countries are working to issue a resolution against Iran at next week's IAEA Board of Governors meeting to compel the Islamic Republic to cooperate with the international agency. Additionally, Mohammad Eslami, head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, after meeting with Rafael Grossi, referred to the possibility of punitive resolutions from the Board of Governors against Iran, stating that any action he described as 'interventionist' in Iran's nuclear affairs would be met with immediate and reciprocal action from Tehran.