Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the visiting head of the UN nuclear watchdog on Thursday that his government was willing to resolve doubts about its atomic programme, ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump’s arrival in office.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said achieving “results” in nuclear talks with Iran was vital to avoid a new conflict in the region already inflamed by Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
His visit comes just days after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Iran was “more exposed than ever to strikes on its nuclear facilities” giving Israel “the opportunity to achieve our most important goal”.
“As we have repeatedly proven our goodwill, we announce our readiness to cooperate and converge with this international organisation to resolve the alleged ambiguities and doubts about the peaceful nuclear activity of our country,” Pezeshkian told Grossi.
Trump, a hawk on Iran, is expected to give Israel a far freer rein after he takes office in January.
In Tehran, Grossi said Iranian nuclear installations “should not be attacked”.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who also met with Grossi, said Iran was “willing to negotiate” based on the “national interest” and “inalienable rights,” but was not “ready to negotiate under pressure and intimidation”.
Araghchi was Iran’s chief negotiator in talks that led to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, abandoned three years later by Trump. Grossi also met the head of Iran’s atomic energy organisation, Mohammad Eslami.
