IAEA Chief in Tehran to confer with Iranian officials

Tehran, Aug 24, IRNA - Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Mariano Grossi arrived in Tehran on Monday night to confer with Iranian officials. Upon his arrival at Imam Khomeini International Airport, Grossi was welcomed by Spokesman for Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behruz Kamalvandi. Earlier, Grossi wrote in his Twitter account: “I will travel to Tehran on Monday for meetings with Iranian authorities to address outstanding questions related to safeguards in Iran. I hope to establish a fruitful and cooperative channel of direct dialogue. It is necessary.” He issued a report last month in which he admitted that Iran has cooperated with the Agency to carry out without prior notice inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities. The IAEA chief called for inspections into sites in which he claimed Iran had carried out small-scale researches on nuclear materials in early 2000. Iran refuted the claims saying they were based on false data provided by hostile countries. In an IAEA Board of Governors meeting on June 20, France, Germany and Britain proposed a resolution, under the pressure of the US, which calling on Iran to stop preventing access to two nuclear sites so that the IAEA inspectors could easily visit them. The resolution was passed despite serious opposition by China and Russia. In the meantime, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said working with the International Atomic Energy Agency is in line with transparency and cooperation with IAEA, adding that IAEA chief's upcoming visit to Iran has nothing to do with trigger mechanism. Based on the Fatwa issued by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, "we will not produce nuclear weapons", Zarif said. Referring to use of chemical weapons against Iran during Iran-Iraq imposed war, Iranian foreign minister said that Iran is victim of chemical weapons but has never used them. Iran has always been ready for negotiating with the IAEA, Zatif stated. We will not let those [Zionist regime and the US] who are against IAEA's objectives and are disturbing peace and security in the region by stockpiling nuclear weapons so that they stood up to the IAEA goals.