Head of AEOI: The West Accepts Iran as a ‘Nuclear Country’

Iran

March 10th, 6:47am

Vienna - Tehran - Asharq Al-Awsat

Grossi and Eslami on the sidelines of discussions in Tehran last Saturday. (Reuters)

The West has accepted Iran as a nuclear country and its only option in dealing with Iran is diplomacy, the IRGC's Tasnim news agency quoted the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, as saying. Mohsen Naziri Asl, Iran’s representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Wednesday that his country was willing to cooperate over its atomic program, even as western powers slammed a “dangerous nuclear escalation”. In a weekend trip, IAEA head Rafael Grossi received Iranian “assurances” on its intentions following the discovery of uranium particles enriched to near weapons-grade level. “There are many things to do in the coming weeks and months toward addressing issues of common interest, for that Iran is very much willing to work with Rafael Grossi,” Naziri Asl told AFP. “We should avoid confrontation and rather work very responsibly together,” he added. He declined to give details, including on Grossi’s announcement that surveillance cameras at several nuclear sites would be reconnected. In a statement to the IAEA board of governors meeting this week, France, Germany, and the UK spoke of Iran’s “unabated and dangerous nuclear escalation.” “This unprecedented enrichment at up to 83.7 percent is an extremely grave escalation,” they said. The US also called the discovery of the particles “an alarming development” with 83.7 percent being just under the 90 percent needed to produce an atomic bomb. “Iran must ensure that such an incident never occurs again,” said Laura Holgate, the US Ambassador to the IAEA.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4203766/head-aeoi-west-accepts-iran-%E2%80%98nuclear-country%E2%80%99