Iran, IAEA Agree to Enhance Mutual Trust

Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency on Wednesday agreed to reinforce cooperation and enhance mutual trust to facilitate the full implementation of Iran’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and its Additional Protocol, which the country has provisionally applied since January 2016.
After two days of bilateral consultations, including a meeting between IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and President Hassan Rouhani, Tehran and the UN nuclear agency reached an agreement on the resolution of the safeguards implementation issues specified by the IAEA, “in good faith”, according to a joint statement by Grossi and Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, posted on the website of IAEA. 
“In this regard, Iran is voluntarily providing IAEA with access to the two locations specified by IAEA and facilitating the IAEA verification activities to resolve these issues,” the statement said. 
In the meeting with the IAEA chief, Rouhani said, “Relations between Iran and IAEA are at a very good level, and the message of the IAEA director general’s trip to Tehran for the world is that Iran is ready to have close collaboration with the agency within the framework of the safeguards [agreement],” President.ir reported. 
Grossi expressed satisfaction about the conclusion of the agreement and stressed the need for increased cooperation between the two sides. 
The statement also said, “Dates for the IAEA access and the verification activities have been agreed. The IAEA verification activities will proceed in accordance with CSA and AP, and the IAEA’s standard verification practice as implemented for all states with CSAs and APs on equal basis and without discrimination.”
The UN agency assured that it will not raise further questions to Iran and make further requests for access to locations other than those declared by Iran under its CSA and AP.
Both sides also recognized that the independence, impartiality and professionalism of IAEA continue to be essential in the fulfilment of its verification activities.
IAEA will continue to take into consideration Iran’s security concerns, by protecting all safeguards confidential information in accordance with IAEA’s Statute, the relevant provisions of CSA and AP, and the established IAEA confidentiality regime, standards and procedures, the statement added.