Iran says official to meet UN nuke chief, will respond to Trump letter after ‘scrutiny’
Iranian foreign ministry calls talks part of ‘ongoing engagement’ amid ‘threats against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities,’ says Washington sending mixed signals
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, will meet UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna on Monday, the Iranian foreign ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the meeting with the International Atomic Energy Agency was “part of our ongoing engagement with the agency.”
The meeting in the Austrian capital comes after Gharibabadi took part in talks with his Russian and Chinese counterparts in Beijing on Friday. Gharibabadi previously served as Iran’s envoy to the IAEA.
“As threats against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities have increased, it is natural for us to intensify consultations with the IAEA,” Baqaei said.
Baqaei also said that Iran will respond to US President Donald Trump’s invitation to talks after proper scrutiny, accusing Washington of not matching actions with words.
“So far, we have no reason to publicize [Trump’s] letter… Our response to this letter will be done through appropriate channels after full scrutiny,” Baqaei said.
The Iranian spokesperson noted contradictory signals from Washington, which was voicing readiness for talks while also applying new sanctions on Tehran’s economy.
“Diplomatic negotiations have etiquette in that each side must recognize the other’s interests and, more importantly, believe in fulfilling their commitments,” Baqaei added during the televised press conference.
“The US does not respect that and uses the possibility of negotiations as a propaganda and political tool,” he said.
Earlier this month, Trump said he had written to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging new talks on the country’s nuclear program but warning of possible military action if it refuses.
For decades, Western countries led by the United States have accused Tehran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran rejects these claims, insisting its nuclear activities are solely for peaceful purposes, including energy production. However, its officials increasingly threaten to pursue a nuclear weapon and regularly threaten to flatten Israeli cities. Iran now enriches uranium to near weapons-grade levels of 60 percent, the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so. The UN nuclear agency and Western analysts say only countries seeking an atomic bomb enrich uranium to that level.
In 2015, Iran signed an agreement with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — plus Germany to limit its nuclear activities.
Under the original deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67% purity and to maintain a uranium stockpile of 300 kilograms (661 pounds). The last report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran’s program put its stockpile at 8,294.4 kilograms (18,286 pounds) as it enriches a fraction of it to 60% purity.
Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018. Israel has repeatedly said it will not accept Iran, which calls for its destruction, having nuclear weapons.
In recent months, Iran has held several rounds of talks with Britain, France and Germany in a bid to revive the agreement, which had lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities.
While Iran has maintained it won’t negotiate under duress, its economy has been savaged by the US sanctions. Protests over women’s rights, the economy and Iran’s theocracy in recent years have shaken its government.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.