IAEA chief calls for new nuclear deal with Iran

Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said that reviving the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers is “impossible” and called for striking a new deal.

In an interview with Spain’s El Pais newspaper, Grossi said he believes the old agreement has died after Tehran began producing what could be considered the minimum amount of materials needed to produce a nuclear weapon, although it still needs more materials to build a bomb.

The UN atomic watchdog chief stressed that the agency does not accept Iran’s use of nuclear inspections as a means to pressure the parties to the deal.

Grossi has previously said that there is no quick way to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, adding that “several matters and developments have taken place in secret recently,” referring to Iran’s violations of the agreement.

READ: Iran enriching uranium in an underground facility

Last December, Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, rejected Grossi’s suggestion that reviving Iran’s nuclear deal after a new US administration comes to power would require striking a new agreement.

Former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 and imposed “unprecedented” sanctions on the Islamic Republic.