Iran Hits Out at IAEA Chief After Secret Nuclear Sites Warning

Iran has complained about International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi's recent interview with Newsweek, terming the IAEA chief's remarks "non-constructive" and urging him to focus on his responsibilities related to the beleaguered Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's representative to the IAEA and other Vienna-based international bodies, told reporters Wednesday that Grossi's intervention risked undermining the work of the IAEA and shifting attention from the JCPOA, the state-run Press TV reported.

Grossi told Newsweek on Tuesday that the IAEA has concerns about reported secret nuclear facilities in Iran, where enriched uranium is being processed outside the bounds of the JCPOA, which in 2015 capped the level of enrichment and size of stockpile Tehran is allowed.

Tehran has expanded enrichment and stockpile far beyond that allowed under the JCPOA, following former President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the deal in 2018 and impose subsequent sanctions.

The Iranian regime has said it is willing to return to full compliance, but only if President Joe Biden rescinds all Trump-era sanctions and commits to full participation in the accord.

The IAEA is currently investigating two sites where traces of man made uranium were found. There are concerns that Iran may be conducting nuclear weapons research at the two facilities, one of which is believed to be a heavy water plant near Arak and the other a uranium enrichment plant near Natanz.

"Detailed and technical discussions'' are needed to establish the location of Iran's undeclared uranium, Grossi told Newsweek. The issue, he said, is "totally connected" to the future of the JCPOA.

"We need to know what was going on there, we need to know exactly what kind of activities were taking place there, and we need to know if there was material, where is this material now?" Grossi said. "Because it hasn't been declared. This necessitates a very detailed and technical discussion, which was not taking place."

But Grossi's remarks were met with a frosty response in Tehran. "Such interviews will only damage the IAEA's credibility before Iran and Iranians, and will eliminate the chance for the success of the IAEA chief's next initiatives on the basis of interaction and good faith," Gharibabadi told reporters Wednesday.

"We do not need to complicate it with such strange positions," Gharibabadi added, referring to the JCPOA. "The issues are interconnected, and Iran will organize its measures and interactions with the IAEA and its director general with regard to other factors.

"Do not cling to over-two-decade-old allegations as a cover-up to justify your deliberate failure to address important issues of proliferation, including the nuclear dossier of the Israeli regime!" Gharibabadi said.