Iran-IAEA Temporary Nuclear Inspection Reagreement... "Will Buy Time for Nuclear Deal"

Resumption of Surveillance Camera Recording at Iranian Nuclear Facility
Interest Grows Over Possible Revival of Iran Nuclear Deal Talks

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Expectations are growing for the resumption of talks to restore the nuclear deal (JCPOA - Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), which has been temporarily suspended since June, as Iran has re-agreed to provisional nuclear inspections with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

On the 12th (local time), the Iranian government announced that it had agreed to resume provisional nuclear inspections involving the maintenance and repair of surveillance cameras at Iranian nuclear facilities and the exchange of storage media with the IAEA. Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), and Rafael Grossi, IAEA Director General, emphasized in a joint statement after talks in Tehran that they had agreed to resume nuclear inspections at a limited level.

In the joint statement, Eslami and Grossi said, "IAEA inspectors will be able to maintain and repair surveillance cameras within Iranian nuclear facilities and exchange storage media, with the methods and timing to be coordinated and decided by both parties," adding, "We plan to strengthen cooperation on nuclear-related issues in an atmosphere of mutual trust and constructive dialogue."

Director General Grossi, in a press conference held in Vienna, Austria, immediately after returning, emphasized that "this agreement is a temporary measure," but also evaluated that "it will buy time for a diplomatic solution." He stressed, "We will continue to obtain the necessary information to monitor Iranian nuclear facilities continuously," and "both sides have succeeded in agreeing on the method and timing."

As a result, video recording through surveillance cameras at Iranian nuclear facilities, which had been suspended for the past three months, is expected to resume. However, Iran will not immediately provide the video footage to the IAEA; instead, the collected video data will be stored at a location within Iran agreed upon by the Atomic Energy Organization and the IAEA, and will be provided to the IAEA if there is progress in future nuclear negotiations.

Grossi's visit to Tehran and the announcement of the agreement are the first since the inauguration of hardliner President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, and are interpreted as a move by the Iranian government to resume the nuclear deal negotiations that have been temporarily suspended since June 20. Since early April, the Iranian government has been conducting nuclear deal restoration talks in Vienna, Austria, with Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, but these talks were temporarily suspended on June 20 due to Iran's unilateral decision to halt them, and the date for resumption has not yet been set.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.