Tehran 0
16 December 2020

IAEA Director General Raphael Grossi stated that “there is forward moving in the Iranian nuclear program. The thing is that the IAEA is still there to say what’s happening. The future will depend a lot on what the countries which are party to the [JCPOA]… decide in the future, and I would say in the next few weeks and months, I’m sure there will be renewed activity around it once there is a new administration in Washington and some other factors converge to what we hope will be a negotiation”. Grossi further asserted that “a dialogue with us will be indispensable, adding: “the negotiators… will have to base themselves on the new situation on the ground”. “It is clear that there will have to be a protocol or an agreement or an understanding or some ancillary document which will stipulate clearly what we do”, said Grossi the following day. Iran’s IAEA envoy subsequently contended that “the commitments of the parties and the IAEA tasks have been delicately drafted and agreed and each side knows what to do to implement the deal. There would be no renegotiation on the Deal and in case of its revival, there is no necessity for a new document on the Agency’s role”.

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