The IAEA and Iran have agreed dates for the nuclear watchdog to access two former Iranian nuclear facilities.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, Rafael Grossi and Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Ali Akbar Salehi announced that "after intensive bilateral consultations, Iran and the IAEA reached an agreement on the resolution of the safeguards implementation issues specified by the IAEA, in good faith. In this regard, Iran is voluntarily providing the IAEA with access to two locations specified by the IAEA and facilitating the IAEA verification activities to resolve these issues."
The statement noted that "based on analysis of available information," the IAEA does not have any other outstanding questions vis-a-vis Iran or any of its other nuclear facilities. In addition both sides are said to recognize that "the independence, impartiality and professionalism of the IAEA continue to be essential in the fulfilment of its verification activities."
Commenting on the agreement, an unnamed Iranian official told Reuters that in return for access to the sites, Tehran has asked the IAEA not to seek inspections on the basis of "fabricated information."
Inspections Dispute
In June, a confidential IAEA report accused Tehran of increasing its stockpiles of enriched uranium in contravention of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and raised concerns about a lack of access to two former facilities it said may have been used for nuclear-related activities without being declared to international monitors.
Immediately after the release of the report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the international community to join the United States in applying "paralyzing" sanctions against Iran over its alleged violations.
Iran responded to the IAEA report by urging its board of governors against making "irrelevant and unconstructive decisions" on the basis of documents allegedly provided by Israeli intelligence.
On June 19, Tehran expressed "regret" over the nuclear deal's European signatories' decision to put forth a resolution demanding IAEA inspector access to its nuclear facilities, saying it put the agreement in jeopardy.
Iran, the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Union signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal in 2015, with the landmark deal requiring Tehran to scale back its nuclear program, reduce its uranium stockpiling and enrichment and commit not to build a nuclear weapon, in exchange for sanctions relief.
In May 2018, President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement and reintroduced tough energy and banking sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Iran first urged the deal's remaining signatories - specifically its European members, to establish financial and trade mechanisms by which the country could get around the US restrictions. Then, in May 2019, citing the failure of the European signatories to do so, Tehran resumed the buildup of its uranium stockpile and enrichment levels, while maintaining its commitment not to pursue nuclear weapons.
