Iran's FM says options for nuclear diplomacy 'limited' after IAEA tour of sensitive sites

By Global Watch and AFP | 2024-11-18

An opportunity exists for nuclear negotiations but it is "limited," Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in a November 16 interview with state television, following a visit by the head of the global nuclear watchdog.

"There is still an opportunity for diplomacy, although this opportunity is not much, it is a limited opportunity," Araghchi said of the Iranian regime's nuclear program.

His comments come after International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Grossi visited Iran for talks with high-ranking officials.

Grossi toured two Iranian uranium enrichment plants that have been the focus of concern on November 15, after warning that "the margins for maneuver are beginning to shrink" over the regime's nuclear program.

He visited the Natanz and Fordo enrichment plants in central Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported, posting photos that showed he was accompanied by Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi.

The IAEA says Iran has significantly expanded its stocks of uranium enriched to 60%, a level that has triggered international alarm as it is much closer to the 90% level needed for a nuclear warhead.

Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium to 60%, the global nuclear watchdog has said.

'Proliferation-sensitive'

Grossi's tour of the Natanz and Fordo enrichment plants was "significant for both technical monitoring and symbolic reasons," said Samuel Hickey of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

"Natanz serves as Iran's main uranium enrichment facility, while Fordo houses some of its most advanced centrifuges," Hickey said.

Fordo "is among Iran's most proliferation-sensitive sites," he added.

By allowing Grossi to visit the plants, the Iranian regime "is signaling that the easiest access to these facilities is through diplomatic engagement," Hickey said.

Grossi's visit comes ahead of a late November meeting of the IAEA's board of governors where Britain, France and Germany could propose a new resolution critical of the Islamic Republic.

In November 14 talks with the IAEA chief in Tehran, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said the Islamic Republic was ready to resolve any "doubts and ambiguities" about its nuclear ambitions.

But in his meeting with Grossi, Iran's nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami threatened instant "countermeasures" if the board adopts an "interventionist resolution."

The United States has expressed skepticism about Tehran's show of cooperation.

"Ultimately, what we want to see from Iran is actual behavioral change and action, not just signs of something or indications of something," US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.