Iran: Visit of Rafael Grossi (IAEA) is “Fruitful”

On a day when International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi (pictured) held a series of talks in Tehran with the Islamic Republic’s political leadership on Iran’s nuclear program, the US press released dramatic details of recent contacts between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The New York Times informs that Trump “succeeded in preventing an alleged large-scale Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.” According to the publication, citing “knowledgeable sources,” the US president “prefers to stick to the path of negotiations to limit Iran’s nuclear program, betting on diplomacy rather than force.” Meanwhile, the Jewish state’s political and military leadership has prepared a plan to strike Iranian nuclear facilities “in order to delay Tehran’s nuclear weaponization for a year or more.” However, Trump expressed a clear rejection to the Israeli prime minister during his recent visit to the White House.

According to IAEA Director Grossi, Iran is “not far” from building a nuclear bomb. In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, Grossi noted: “Over the past four years, we have recorded a rapid acceleration of Iranian activities in this area.”

Grossi was received in Tehran on Thursday, April 17, by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who described the conversation with the IAEA director as “fruitful.” In a message posted on X social network, Araghchi emphasized that IAEA can play a “key role” in the peaceful resolution of Iran’s nuclear dossier: “While some detractors are uniting to undermine the ongoing negotiations (with the USA – ed.), we need a common desire for peace,” the Iranian minister wrote, expressing hope that Tehran could trust Grossi “in his mission to keep the Agency out of the realm of politics and politicization by focusing activities on the technical mandate.”

Russia also expressed its full support for the dialog being conducted between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran, expressing hope that the visit of the Agency’s Director General Rafael Grossi to Tehran will end successfully. According to Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Moscow “fully supports this dialogue and wishes the visit the best possible outcome.”

Earlier, the Kremlin denied reports that the Iranian nuclear dossier was discussed at an April 11 meeting in St. Petersburg between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff, the US president’s special envoy for Middle East affairs. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, “the talks between Putin and Witkoff focused on finding a solution to the Ukrainian conflict and the state of US-Russian relations. Iran was not on the agenda.” Following his meeting with Putin, Witkoff took part in the first round of “indirect talks” with Iranian diplomatic chief Araghchi in Muscat, the capital of Oman, last Saturday. After a series of conflicting statements, it has been decided that the next round of Oman-brokered nuclear talks will be held on Saturday, April 19, in Rome, Italy.