Iran, IAEA agree to resolve outstanding nuke issues

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - Iran's nuclear body chief said Saturday an agreement has been reached with the UN nuclear watchdog on resolving issues related to its nuclear program that have become sticking points in salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal.

Mohammad Eslami told a joint news conference with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi in Tehran that Tehran has agreed to provide the agency with documents related to outstanding issues by mid-June.

Grossi arrived in Tehran late on Friday to discuss issues related to alleged undeclared nuclear sites and uranium traces found there, which has delayed the final outcome of talks currently underway in Vienna.

The visit came as the parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as JCPOA, say they are at the cusp of an agreement to revive the nuclear deal after months-long talks.

Grossi, speaking at the press conference, said it was "important to have this understanding" with Iran, adding that the revival of the JCPOA was impossible without resolving the "outstanding issues".

The issues are linked to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) safeguards agreement between Iran and the IAEA. In its last quarterly report in November, the UN nuclear watchdog had expressed "deep concern" over "nuclear material" at three undeclared sites in Iran.

Grossi, who also held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, urged Tehran to address these issues before a deal is clinched in Vienna.

Iranian officials say the IAEA claims about undeclared nuclear sites in Iran are based on false information provided to it by Israel, which is suspected to have targeted Iranian nuclear sites several times in recent years.

Grossi's visit also came ahead of the release of a new report that claims Tehran has amassed a large quantity of highly-enriched uranium at its nuclear sites.

Iran's acting envoy to the IAEA, Mohammad Reza Ghaebi, on Thursday confirmed details in the agency's leaked new quarterly report, which puts 60% enriched uranium at 33.2kg, 20 percent at 182.1kg, 5% at 1,277.9kg, and 2% at 1,390kg.

The stock of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity has almost doubled from 15.5kg to 33.2kg, sparking concerns about weapons-grade enrichment. Under the nuclear deal, uranium enrichment was allowed up to 3.67 percent.