Iran Claims Grossi Admitted 'No Deviation In Iran's Nuclear Program'

In a press conference with UN's Rafael Grossi in Tehran, Iran's nuclear chief claimed that Grossi "emphasized there is no deviation" in Iran's nuclear program.

Mohammad Eslami said the IAEA chief in their meeting Tuesday had "emphasized repeatedly that no deviation has been observed in Iran's nuclear program".

Government controlled media in Iran immediately began tweeting Eslami's assertion that Grossi admitted there was no deviation in Iran's nuclear program.

Eslami also told reporters that the questions raised by the IAEA regarding the "documents provided to the agency by Iran's enemies" have been answered partly and it was agreed in their meeting to resolve the remaining cases.

Eslami also claimed that the IAEA will not be influenced by "Iran's enemies' insidious infiltration".

Grossi who was listening to a translation of Eslami’s remarks did not directly respond to his assertions.

"The agency is seeking to continue and deepen the dialogue with the government of Iran..., We agreed to continue our joint work on transparency, and this will continue, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told his televised news conference Tuesday.

Grossi who arrived in Tehran Monday evening has previously criticized as inadequate explanations given by Iran over traces of uranium found at two undeclared sites and relating to work carried out before 2003.

But it is still not clear what was decided over IAEA's complaints about Iran limiting access to its monitoring work in its nuclear installations, which was an important aspect of Grossi's visit.

The IAEA chief will also hold talks with Hossein Amir-Abdollahian Tuesday afternoon for the first time since his appointment as foreign minister.

In the joint press conference, Eslami also stressed that Iran requires generation of at least 10,000 MW of electricity by nuclear technology and is adamant about its nuclear program.

The official news agency IRNA said in a report Tuesday before the press conference, that the IAEA chief and Eslami would discuss "the establishment of a clear framework for cooperation between the UN nuclear watchdog and Iran's Atomic Energy Organization.

The IAEA has issued critical reports saying Tehran has not fully cooperated with its monitors, which could make it more difficult to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement known as JCPOA, under which Iran accepted curbs on its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions.

According to IAEA reports last week, Iran had still not granted IAEA inspectors access it promised two months ago to re-install monitoring cameras at a workshop that was the site of apparent sabotage in June.

The meeting with the IAEA chief is taking place ahead of an IAEA Board of Governors' meeting this week and days before resumption of talks in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018, imposing draconian sanctions on Iran.

Western powers scrapped plans in September for an IAEA board resolution rebuking Iran, after Tehran agreed to prolong monitoring of some nuclear activities and invited IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to Tehran for talks. Grossi is again due in Tehran ahead of the IAEA board meeting.