Tehran (AFP) – The UN’s nuclear chief said Friday that Iran’s pledge not to build a nuclear weapon would need “very strong” verification, as the United States and the Islamic Republic negotiate a permanent settlement to end their war. Iran’s nuclear programme is a key sticking point in talks to end the Middle East war, which began in late February with massive US-Israeli strikes.
Iran and the US last week signed a preliminary deal to end the conflict, embarking on negotiations expected to address a host of disputes including the nuclear programme. However, there has been contrasting information from Tehran and Washington on whether UN inspectors will have access to Iranian nuclear facilities. “I think the objective of this agreement is to ensure that there is no development of nuclear weapons in Iran. The government of Iran has declared quite clearly that this is not their intention,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi said Friday. “But of course intentions are not enough. We have to have a very strong verification system in place…as soon as is practicable,” he added.
Grossi mentioned that the UN’s nuclear watchdog had so far “barely initiated” talks with Iran following the agreement with the United States. The deal specifies that the country’s stockpile of enriched uranium should be “downblended” under IAEA supervision. Before the war, the IAEA estimated that Iran had 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60 percent, below the threshold needed to make a bomb, but the fate of that stockpile is unknown after the US and Israel bombed Iranian nuclear facilities last year.
In Tehran meanwhile, people told AFP that despite the diplomatic progress, there had so far been no tangible benefits in everyday life. “Overall, nothing has improved,” said Amir, 28, a government employee. “Life has simply become more difficult.” Mehdi, 35, a content creator, expressed that “until such changes are felt in people’s everyday lives, it is only natural that hope will remain accompanied by doubt, and that anticipation will give way to exhaustion and anxiety.”
Iran’s nuclear programme has long been a source of friction with Western powers, who suspect Tehran is building a bomb despite repeated Iranian denials. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Tehran had “fully and completely agreed” to allow UN inspectors to return to the country, while on Wednesday Grossi confirmed that inspections of Iranian nuclear sites were “going to happen”. However, Iran stated this week that it had no intention of admitting the watchdog.
Tehran agreed to a landmark nuclear deal with six big powers in 2015 that placed limits on its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief, but Trump walked away from the agreement during his first term as president. Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA last year following the US and Israeli attacks in June.
The dispute threatens to derail efforts to reach a permanent settlement between the US and Iran following months of war, with other key disputes being the Strait of Hormuz and Lebanon. The strait is a narrow stretch of water between Iran and Oman that leads to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, making it a chokepoint for crucial energy shipments out of the Gulf. Iran closed the waterway during the war in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes, and its control of the strait has emerged as key leverage in the negotiations, as the world economy reels from energy shortages.
On Wednesday, an attack on a ship in the strait led the UN to suspend an effort to evacuate trapped mariners, many of whom have been stranded on the water since the war began. The British maritime security agency UKMTO reported that a cargo ship was “hit on the starboard side by an unknown projectile”, but no casualties were reported. Iran has also stated that it plans to introduce fees for crossing the strait, a scheme vehemently opposed by Washington and most Gulf countries. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting the Gulf on Wednesday, dismissed the idea of charges, stating it would open the door to “total chaos”. Rubio emphasized that the United States wants a deal with Iran, but “we don’t want a deal at any price.”
Tehran has also insisted that a Lebanon ceasefire be included in the regional deal, which has rankled Israel. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem declared that Israel has “no option but to withdraw completely from every inch of our Lebanese land” that it had invaded, after the pro-Iran group joined the conflict in retaliation for the US-Israeli killing of Iran’s supreme leader. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun has tried to separate Lebanon from the US-Iran talks, insisting on Friday that Lebanon is eager for “any international formula that strengthens the capabilities of its armed forces, preserves its territorial integrity, and prevents its land from becoming an arena for escalation or regional tensions”.
© 2024 AFP
