The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi says that the agency welcomes the implementation of the March 2023 agreement that could provide a framework for mutual cooperation.

According to The Iran Project, "In early May, I traveled to Tehran and met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs late Hossein Amirabdollahian, Vice-President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami," Grossi made the remarks in his introductory statement to the Board of Governors on Monday.

"I shared with them some concrete proposals to reinvigorate the implementation of the Joint Statement of 4 March 2023," he added.

The IAEA chief went on to say "I welcome Iran’s agreement that the Joint Statement continues to provide a framework for cooperation with the Agency and for addressing the outstanding issues and call upon Iran to implement the Joint Statement through serious engagement with the Agency’s concrete proposals".

He called on the new government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue the high-level dialogue and technical exchanges that commenced as a result of the meetings with the late Foreign Minister and the current acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani on May 6 and 7 in Tehran and Isfahan.

During subsequent communication with Foreign Minister Bagheri Kani, "we agreed to pursue further efforts as discussed in Tehran in early May", he further noted.

Repeating the previous remarks, he claimed that "Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium continues to increase, including that enriched up to 60%. The Agency has lost continuity of knowledge in relation to the production and inventory of centrifuges, rotors and bellows, heavy water and uranium ore concentrate. It has been more than three years since Iran stopped provisionally applying its Additional Protocol and therefore it is also over three years since the Agency was able to conduct complementary access in Iran".

Grossi also repeated some remarks on the NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran, adding that "there has been no progress in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues. Iran has not provided the Agency with technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at Varamin and Turquzabad or informed the Agency of the current location(s) of the nuclear material and/or of contaminated equipment".

He stated that "Iran still is not implementing modified Code 3.1, having stated it had suspended such implementation. These outstanding safeguards issues stem from Iran’s obligations under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and need to be resolved for the Agency to be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful".