A pause in negotiations to salvage Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers has placed the International Atomic Energy Agency in an “uncomfortable position,” its boss told AFP on Monday.
An Iranian official announced Saturday the talks in Vienna will not resume before a new government takes office in August, following presidential elections last month won by ultra-conservative Ebrahim Raisi.
“We still have a number of questions, issues that we are trying to clarify with Iran, and we will have to wait and start anew with the new team when they are in office,” IAEA director general Rafael Grossi told AFP in an interview in Rio de Janeiro during an official visit to Brazil.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The announcement that the process would be resumed only after Raisi takes over “leaves us in a rather uncomfortable situation,” he added.
“I’m talking about the agency, I don’t know about the others, but I suppose they would rather be negotiating than waiting.”
The Islamic republic has been engaged in negotiations since April in Vienna with major powers on reviving its troubled 2015 nuclear agreement.
The 2015 accord offered Tehran international sanctions relief in exchange for limiting its nuclear program, but was torpedoed in 2018 when former US president Donald Trump withdrew from it and reimposed sanctions.
Trump’s successor Joe Biden has signaled his readiness to return to the deal and has engaged in indirect negotiations with Iran as the accord’s other remaining state parties – Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia – hold talks in Vienna.
A sixth round of talks concluded on June 20.
Incumbent President Hassan Rouhani had repeatedly promised he would get the United States to lift sanctions before the end of his term, but last week indicated this would no longer be possible and negotiations would not be complete before he leaves office.
Raisi will take over from Rouhani on August 5.
Ultimate political power in Iran rests with the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who gave the green light for both the original nuclear agreement and the efforts to revive it.
Read more:
Iranian deputy foreign minister says Vienna talks must await Iran’s new admin
US accuses Iran of trying to deflect blame for nuclear talks impasse
Iran FM insists prisoner swap deal agreed with US, says ready to proceed ‘today’
Also Read
-
Iran shuts Tehran government offices, banks as COVID-19 spreads
Iran on Monday announced strict curbs in the capital Tehran and a nearby province to stem the spread of COVID-19, as daily infections drew close to an ... Coronavirus -
Turkey detains 133 migrants near Iranian border in two days: Officials
Turkish authorities have detained 133 undocumented migrants, most of them Afghans, near its southern border with Iran over the past two days, ... Middle East -
Death toll from Iran protests rises to three, say activists
The death toll from street protests over water shortages in Iran’s oil-rich southwest rose to three, activists said on Saturday, as demonstrations ... Middle East -
Iran not ready for nuclear talks until President-elect Raisi takes over
Iran is not prepared to resume negotiations on coming back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal until Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi’s ... Middle East
