Eleven months after the start of indirect talks between Iran and the United States on salvaging the 2015 accord in Vienna, delegates are trying to iron out the last thorny issues within days, with Western powers declaring that time is running out because Iran’s nuclear progress will soon render the accord redundant.
Among the unresolved issues, diplomats say, was Iran’s demand to close the IAEA’s investigation into uranium particles found at three apparently ancient but undeclared sites indicating that Iran has nuclear material there that it has not declared to the agency.
The agency has long said that Iran has not provided satisfactory answers on these issues, but on Saturday announced a plan for a series of exchanges after which IAEA chief Rafael Grossi will report his findings by June 2022 to the agency’s Board of Governors meeting, which begins on June 6. June.
The joint plan paves the way for the possibility of reaching an agreement to revive the 2015 agreement, although Grossi stressed that its results would not necessarily be positive.
