‘Iran, IAEA in process of resolving ‘ambiguities’ arising from agency’s incorrect report’

Iran’s nuclear chief says officials with the International Atomic Energy Agency are in Tehran as talks are underway to resolve ambiguities that have arisen following an “incorrect” interpretation of the IAEA inspectors about Iran’s nuclear program.

Mohammad Eslami broke the news while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet session in Tehran on Wednesday.

IAEA officials are in Tehran and have studied the issues that an inspector had raised, he said. 

The remarks come as on February 1, the UN nuclear watchdog accused Iran of making an undeclared change to the interconnection between the two clusters of advanced machines enriching uranium to up to 60% purity at its Fordow plant.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) rejected the report then, noting that the inspector had an “incorrect” interpretation.

Meanwhile, just a few days ago, Bloomberg claimed that inspectors had found uranium enriched to a purity of 84 percent and were trying to determine if it was produced intentionally. The AEOI dismissed the report as a distortion of realities.

Eslami noted that IAEA officials are “conducting talks, visits, and studies and ambiguities that occurred following the inspector’s incorrect interpretation has been resolved or is being resolved.”

“We have kept our ties with the IAEA based on the safeguards framework,” added the nuclear chief.

He noted that Iran maintains interaction and coordination with the IAEA to avoid any new ambiguities in the process of bilateral ties.

Elsewhere, Eslami slammed the US for not adhering to its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and also for not allowing others to fulfill their obligations.

Iran's Plan B

In related remarks on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that Tehran will switch to its “Plan B” and “all options” will be on the table if Washington obstructs the talks on the revival of the JCPOA and removal of sanctions.

Speaking in a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein in Baghdad, the Iranian minister said that Tehran is ready to “conclude” an agreement in the negotiations.

Iran has been receiving “mixed messages” from the US regarding the revival of the deal, he said.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported the path of diplomacy and dialogue, noted the minister, adding that Tehran stresses a “strong and lasting” agreement about the JCPOA.

He also hoped that the IAEA would follow up on negotiations with Iran solely from a “technical” point of view, without any “political considerations”.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought a nuclear weapon and will never do so,” he highlighted.

SS