The Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, visited two important nuclear facilities in Iran in an attempt to clarify doubts about the Iranian atomic program. Grossi visited the Natanz nuclear plant in the central province of Isfahan and the underground Fordow plant, discovered in 2009 by the international community, with no details about the visit being disclosed.
Since his arrival in Tehran on Wednesday, Grossi has been seeking to redirect relations with Iran, which have been tense since the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear pact. Iran has enriched uranium above permitted levels since 2019, although the IAEA has confirmed that it has not developed nuclear weapons. The agency is also investigating unnatural traces of uranium at undeclared facilities by Tehran, which has disconnected surveillance cameras and barred inspectors.
During his visit, Grossi met with the President of Iran, Masud Pezeshkian, the Foreign Minister, Abās Araqchī, and the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency (AEAI), Mohamed Eslami. Pezeshkian expressed Iran's willingness to address concerns about the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities. Araqchī affirmed the willingness to negotiate the atomic program without pressure, rejecting any intimidation.
This rapprochement between Iran and the IAEA comes months before the inauguration of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who during his first term applied a "maximum pressure" policy on Iran, withdrawing from the nuclear agreement and imposing severe economic sanctions.
