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New IAEA Chief Vows to Act Fair, Independently Regarding Iran

New IAEA Chief Vows to Act Fair, Independently Regarding Iran
folder_openEurope... access_time4 years ago
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By Staff, Agencies

The new director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA], Rafael Mariano Grossi, promises he will act fairly and independently towards Iran.

Speaking in an interview with Ria Novosti on Monday, Grossi added that he would not allow discrimination in any case and would like to rely on cooperation with Iran.

"We will not allow discrimination and bias against Iran," he said, emphasizing that as the new IAEA head, he wants to advance his own approach towards relations with Tehran.

"I will be very determined and very fair. I will not be undecided as to the implementation of liabilities," Grossi said.

Grossi, the first Latin American to head the IAEA, added that he would rely on the information provided by the agency's inspectors, who monitor Iran's commitment to its undertakings under the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], reached between Iran and six major world powers – the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.

The IAEA will focus on cooperation and mutual consideration at each stage, he noted.

Grossi emphasized that he has no intention to introduce a new methodology, saying the agency would continue its work as before.

US President Donald Trump, a stern critic of the landmark deal, unilaterally pulled Washington out of the JCPOA in May 2018, and unleashed the “toughest ever” sanctions against the Islamic Republic in defiance of global criticism in an attempt to strangle the Iranian oil trade.

Despite Washington’s withdrawal, Tehran remained completely compliant with the JCPOA for an entire year as confirmed by the IAEA in several reports, waiting for the co-signatories to fulfill their end of the bargain by offsetting the impacts of the sanctions.

In response to the renewal of the US sanctions, Tehran has so far rowed back on its nuclear commitments four times in compliance with Articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA, but stressed that its retaliatory measures will be reversible as soon as the European signatories – France, Britain and Germany – find practical ways to shield mutual trade from the US sanctions.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi on Friday held his first meeting with the UN nuclear agency's chief in Vienna, which he described as "good and useful."

He also expressed satisfaction with Grossi's resolve to fulfill his duties "in a quite professional atmosphere without political pressure which usually exists in the [IAEA] Board of Governors."

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