TEHRAN, Iran (AP) 鈥� Iran agreed Sunday to allow international inspectors to install new memory cards into surveillance cameras at its sensitive nuclear sites and to continue filming there, potentially averting a diplomatic showdown this week.
The announcement by Mohammad Eslami of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran after a meeting he held with the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, in Tehran still leaves the watchdog in the same position it has faced since February, however.
Tehran holds all recordings at its sites as negotiations over the U.S. and Iran returning to the 2015 nuclear deal remain stalled in Vienna. Meanwhile, Iran is now enriching small amounts of uranium to its closest-ever levels to weapons-grade purity as its stockpile continues to grow.
鈥淚 am glad to say that today were able to have a very constructive result, which has to do with the continuity of the operation of the agency鈥檚 equipment here," Grossi said. It "is indispensable for us to provide the necessary guarantee and information to the IAEA and to the world that everything is in order.鈥�
Eslami described the negotiations between Iran and the Vienna-based IAEA as 鈥渟heerly technical鈥� without any room for politics. He said Grossi would return to Iran soon to talk with officials, without elaborating. Also left unsaid was whether Iran would hand over copies of the older recordings, which Tehran had threatened previously to destroy.
鈥淭he memory cards are sealed and kept in Iran according to the routine,鈥� Eslami said. 鈥漀ew memory cards will be installed in cameras. That is a routine and natural trend in the agency鈥檚 monitoring system.鈥�
A joint statement released by the IAEA and Iran confirmed the understanding, saying only that 鈥渢he way and the timing are agreed by the two sides.鈥�
The announcement could buy time for Iran ahead of an IAEA board meeting this week in which Western powers had been arguing for Tehran to be censured over its lack of cooperation with international inspectors. Eslami said Iran would take part in that meeting and its negotiations with the IAEA would continue there.
The IAEA told member states in that its verification and monitoring activities have been 鈥渟eriously undermined鈥� since February by Iran鈥檚 refusal to let inspectors access their monitoring equipment.
The IAEA said certain monitoring and surveillance equipment cannot be left for more than three months without 小蓝视频 serviced. It was provided with access this month to four surveillance cameras installed at one site, but one of the cameras had been destroyed and a second had been severely damaged, the agency said.
Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian ambassador to the IAEA, praised the agreement on Twitter, calling it 鈥渢echnical but very important.鈥�
鈥淚t is no less important for Iran to rebuff groundless speculations against it,鈥� Ulyanov wrote.
Iran and world powers agreed in 2015 to the nuclear deal, which saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents.
President Joe Biden has said he's willing to re-enter the accord, but so far, indirect talks have yet to see success. In the meantime, Iran elected Ebrahim Raisi, , as president. Raisi also has said he wants Iran to regain the benefits of the accord, though Tehran in general has struck a tougher pose since his victory.
In Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Nafatli Bennett urged world powers to not 鈥渇all into the trap of Iranian deception that will lead to additional concessions鈥� over the impasse. Israel, , has long accused Iran of seeking an atomic bomb. Tehran maintains its program is peaceful, though U.S. intelligence agencies and international inspectors believe the Islamic Republic pursued the bomb in an organized program up until 2003.
鈥淵ou must not give up on inspecting sites and the most important thing, the most important message is that there must be a time limit,鈥� Bennett said. Iran is 鈥渄ragging on, we must set a clear-cut deadline that says: until here.鈥�
The premier added: "The Iranian nuclear program is at the most advanced point ever. ... We must deal with this project.鈥�
Israel is suspected of launching multiple attacks , as well as killing .
From Riyadh, the top diplomats of Saudi Arabia and Austria jointly expressed concern over Iran鈥檚 nuclear advances, with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg citing 鈥淚ran鈥檚 failure to allow access for nuclear inspections.鈥�
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem and Isabel DeBre in Dubai contributed to this report.
Nasser Karimi And Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press
