IAEA Chief to Visit Iran Ahead of Deadline for Curbing Inspections

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, is set to visit Iran on Saturday to discuss Tehran’s new decision about inspections agreed under the 2015 nuclear deal.
“The trip is scheduled at the request of the IAEA director general and is aimed at technical consultations with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran about … how to continue cooperation within the framework of new developments and circumstances,” Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s permanent representative to Vienna-based organizations, said, ISNA reported. 
The talks, according to the envoy, would be centered on the implementation of measures outlined in Iran’s Feb. 15 letter to the agency based on article 6 of the parliament’s strategic action plan which involve suspension of adherence to the Additional Protocol.  
Iran informed the global nuclear watchdog in the letter that as of February 23, it is planning to "stop implementing voluntary transparency measures" that form part of the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The plan is among Tehran’s countermeasures against the United States’ sweeping sanctions that were imposed by former president Donald Trump following his withdrawal from the agreement in 2018. 
Under the JCPOA, IAEA inspectors are supposed to have limited access to non-nuclear Iranian facilities in cases of suspected illegal nuclear activity.
But under a law passed by parliament in December, Iran is set to stop allowing the intrusive inspections in late February unless there is an easing of US sanctions.
Trump's successor Joe Biden has said the US intends to return to the deal, but that Washington will only resume full compliance once Iran does. 
The IAEA had earlier said in a statement that Grossi is "continuing to consult with Iran".
"Director General Grossi has offered to travel to Iran in order to find a mutually agreeable solution for the Agency to continue essential verification work," the IAEA said on Tuesday, after member states were given a report on the situation, AFP reported.
President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday dismissed rumors that Iran is set to expel IAEA inspectors, stressing that cooperation with the agency will continue under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement required by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“We will withdraw from the Additional Protocol that we had accepted voluntarily and what will be carried out between us and the agency will be based on the Safeguards Agreement,” he said at a Cabinet meeting.
He described reports about expulsion of inspectors by Iran as a “lie”, explaining that they will continue to monitor nuclear activities and report within the framework of the CSA after the deadline.  
“We are never after nuclear weapons, neither yesterday, nor today or tomorrow. So, we will never expel the inspectors,” he added. 
Rouhani also said Iran has no issue with the IAEA chief’s visit and is open to negotiations.