President Raisi insisted that “without the resolution of the safeguard issues, there is no meaning of an agreement [to revive the JCPOA], the agreement must be accompanied by the resolution of the safeguard issues and its termination”. Relatedly, a website close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council contended: “[IAEA Director General] Rafael Grossi’s political and non-legal behaviour towards Iran could be considered a serious obstacle to the conclusion of the agreement in Vienna talks, and will also darken the prospect of providing the ground for the implementation of the initial commitments of parties”. The same day, Israeli President Herzog affirmed that “the IAEA’s independence is critical. It should be strictly adhered to, including its ability to investigate violations of nuclear developments in Iran”, adding: “The Iranian President's statement today is perfectly clear: it says, 'We don’t respect the independence of the IAEA to investigate open cases’, which are major cases involving enriched uranium, located by IAEA inspectors”.