Washington: The head of the UN\u2019s nuclear watchdog said on Thursday that talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran\u2019s nuclear programme were at a \u201cvery important\u201d stage. Speaking during a visit to Iran, Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also confirmed that his agency could play a vital role in verifying Iran\u2019s compliance if a deal is reached.<\/p>\n
Grossi\u2019s visit comes ahead of a new round of Iran-US negotiations scheduled for Saturday in Rome, following their initial meeting in Oman last week. The discussions come amid growing tensions, with US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening air strikes against Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities if a deal is not reached.<\/p>\n
Iranian officials, meanwhile, have warned that they possess a stockpile of uranium close to weapons-grade levels and could build nuclear weapons if necessary.<\/p>\n
Grossi arrived in Tehran on Wednesday night and met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. On Thursday, he held talks with Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran\u2019s Atomic Energy Organization, before touring facilities housing some of Iran\u2019s civilian nuclear projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know we’re at a very important stage of this important conversation, so I want to focus on the positive,\u201d Grossi told Iranian media.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a possibility of a good result. Nothing is guaranteed. We need to ensure that we put all the elements in place to reach this agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about Trump\u2019s threats, Grossi said the focus should remain on achieving a resolution. \u201cOnce we reach our goal, all these things will disappear as there will be no cause for concern,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington: The head of the UN\u2019s nuclear watchdog said on Thursday that talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran\u2019s nuclear programme were at a \u201cvery important\u201d stage. Speaking during a visit to Iran, Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also confirmed that his agency could play a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41331,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international"],"yoast_head":"\n