CAIRO (AP) – Iran, Egypt and the UN leaders met in Cairo on Monday, saying the UN nuclear watchdog agency discussed Iran’s nuclear program in a confidential report.
The report came into view during US-Iran talks aimed at limiting Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting some of the destructive economic sanctions the US has placed on the Islamic Republic, which it has been affiliated with for almost 50 years.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said he compiled a report seen in the Associated Press over the weekend as Iran’s uranium enrichment is a continuing concern for the IAEA’s governor’s committee.
Grossi said he hopes the report will provide “incentives for peaceful solutions and diplomatic solutions.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragci met not only with Egyptian President Abdel Fatta El-Sisi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatti, but with Grossi.
IAEA expresses “serious concerns”
A confidential IAEA report raised a warning, saying it had said Iran was “the only nuclear-weapon state that produces such material.”
As of May 17, Iran said that 408.6 kilograms (900.8 pounds) of uranium had increased by up to 60%, according to an IAEA report. This is an almost 50% increase since the IAEA’s last report in February. 60% concentrated material is a short technical step from 90% weapon grade level.
Iran’s leadership says it believes the IAEA report is politically motivated by its hopes of becoming Grossi’s next UN Secretary-General.
Grossi is trying to attract votes from multiple members of the UN Security Council in its report, Mohammad Esrami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency, told IRNA news agency late Sunday.
“He basically chose a political attitude, which has made the environment more politically and technical,” Eslami said.
Iran’s Deputy Minister of State for the Statement, Kazem Galibabadi, rejected many of the findings in the report. Gharibabadi on Sunday noted that out of 682 tests in 32 IAEA provinces, 493 were conducted in Iran alone.
“As long as the country’s nuclear activity is under IAEA surveillance, there is no cause for concern,” he said. “The Islamic Republic of Iran does not pursue nuclear weapons, nor does it have any undeclared nuclear material or activities.”
US Transparency Questions
Iran is concerned that the US is not providing sufficient transparency about what it can gain from consultations, Esmail Baghhai, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said on Monday.
“It must be clear to us how unfair sanctions against the Iranian state will be eliminated,” Baghhai said.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busady, who mediates consultations with the US, visited Tehran on Saturday to present Washington’s latest proposal on the ongoing debate. Fifth round talks between the US and Iran ended last week in Rome with “some not a decisive progress,” Al Busadi said at the time.
Araguchi said Monday that Iran will respond to the US approach soon, but there will be no agreement unless Iran’s enrichment rights are respected.
“If the purpose of the consultation is to achieve confidence that the Islamic Republic of Iran will never pursue nuclear weapons, then I think the agreement can be achieved entirely,” Araguchi said. “However, if there is an irrational and unrealistic purpose, then if that purpose is depriving Iran of peaceful activities, we will never accept the agreement.”
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Ridman reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
