In the dispute between Iran and Western countries over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, the fronts are hardening. Iran’s nuclear program chief Mohammad Eslami on Monday refused to activate international surveillance cameras before the 2015 nuclear deal is reinstated.
On Friday, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, warned that the nuclear program is progressing rapidly and that his agency has very limited insight into what is going on.
One of the aims of the IAEA cameras is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. The government in Tehran has denied such intentions in the past.
At the end of June, the revival of the nuclear agreement failed in indirect talks between Iran and the USA. The nuclear deal agreed between a group of states and the Islamic Republic in 2015 provided for the easing of international sanctions against Iran.
In return, Iran made concessions on its nuclear program and international controls. The United States unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump and re-imposed sanctions on Iran. As a result, Iran no longer complied with all of the conditions.
A key hurdle on the way to a compromise is the US refusal to remove the Iranian Revolutionary Guards from its terrorist lists. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Monday that the deal could be reactivated as soon as the US showed good will.
