The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog warned on Wednesday that the agency was not yet satisfied with Iran’s cooperation with international inspectors, just as European leaders appeared poised to reimpose sanctions on Tehran after a series of last-minute meetings failed to reach a diplomatic resolution on its nuclear programme.
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Despite Iran allowing inspectors back in for the first time since the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June, regaining access to crucial nuclear facilities was still “a work in progress,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told Associated Press.
“I can say that it is important that the inspectors are back,” Grossi said in an interview. “At the same time, we still need to clarify a number of things, and we still need to address all the issues that are important in terms of the inspections that we have to carry out in Iran.”
Grossi, who has been receiving special police protection following a threat he said was “from the direction” of Iran, spoke with AP after meeting with high-level officials in Washington this week, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also spoke Wednesday with his counterparts from Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
Rubio and Grossi discussed global nuclear safety and “IAEA efforts to conduct monitoring and verification activities, including in Iran,” the State Department said in a brief readout of the meeting.
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