IAEA: Iran nuclear talks inconclusive

dpa Vienna The Iranian government has not made any concessions to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during nuclear negotiations in Tehran. IAEA...

dpaViennaThe Iranian government has not made any concessions to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during nuclear negotiations in Tehran.IAEA chief Rafael Grossi briefed the organisation’s board of governors in Vienna on Wednesday about his visit to Tehran the previous day, which focused on problems with the surveillance of Iranian nuclear facilities and unresolved questions about the development of the country’s nuclear programme.“Despite my best efforts, these extensive negotiations and deliberations to address Iran’s outstanding safeguards issues, proved inconclusive,” Grossi said. Grossi’s demand for access to certain nuclear sites in line with the 2015 Vienna nuclear agreement was again not granted to the IAEA.Last week, Grossi complained about massive restrictions on the work of his agency. For months now, IAEA inspectors have had to endure “excessively intrusive body searches” by security forces in Iran. The IAEA chief reported the news just days before a new round of negotiations to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which is due to begin in Vienna on Monday.The US had unilaterally left the deal, which was supposed to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons, in 2018 and imposed new sanctions on Iran. As a result, Tehran also stopped adhering to the technical agreements in the deal.  However, the Iranian government promised several times that it would again comply with the technical conditions if the US sanctions were lifted. Iran’s top priority is a quick end to the sanctions, which have led to a crippling financial crisis in what is actually an oil-rich country.