AP: IAEA Officials to Meet with Iranian Officials in Vienna Today

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diplomatic source close to the IAEA said on Friday that, in parallel with contacts between European officials and Iran planned for today, IAEA officials in Vienna were also scheduled to meet with Iranian officials.

The Associated Press, reporting on the matter, stated: According to the informed source, these talks are a continuation of discussions held during the visit of Massimo Aparo, Deputy to Rafael Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, to Tehran on August 11 (20 Mordad).

Iran, citing the failure of the IAEA Director General to fulfill his legal duties in protecting Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities against the aggressions of the Zionist regime and the United States—facilities which were under the coverage of the safeguards agreement with the IAEA—as well as his biased technical report regarding Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran considers as laying the groundwork for such aggressions, suspended its cooperation with the Agency.

Although a level of technical discussions between Iran and the IAEA continues, Tehran has announced that it is currently reviewing the form of its cooperation with the Agency following recent developments.

On Friday, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi would hold a telephone conversation with his French, German, and British counterparts, with Kaja Kallas, Head of the EU’s External Action Service, also participating in the discussion.

The Associated Press wrote: The European Troika (United Kingdom, Germany, and France), in a letter dated August 8 (17 Mordad), warned that if Tehran failed to reach a “satisfactory solution” to the nuclear issues, they would activate the “snapback mechanism” to reinstate all United Nations sanctions against Iran.

The deadline has been set for August 31 (9 Shahrivar), leaving only nine days for Iran to potentially reach any agreement with the Europeans. Restoring the IAEA’s access to Iran’s nuclear facilities is a key component of these negotiations.

The parties had held discussions in Istanbul in July regarding the activation of the snapback mechanism, which produced no tangible results. Iranian officials have stressed that Europe, due to its non-compliance with its commitments under the nuclear agreement, lacks the legal and moral grounds to activate this mechanism stipulated in the accord against Iran.