Iran’s foreign minister set to meet IAEA director ahead of Geneva nuclear talks
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said he will meet with the director of the UN nuclear watchdog on Monday, the day before a second round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva.
Iran and the U.S. renewed negotiations earlier this month to tackle their decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme and avert a new military confrontation as U.S. warships, including a second aircraft carrier, are deploying to the region.
“I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal. What is not on the table: submission before threats,” Araqchi said on X.
While Washington has sought to expand the scope of talks to non-nuclear issues like Iran’s missile stockpile, Tehran says it is only willing to discuss curbs on its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief and won’t accept zero uranium enrichment.
Araqchi said he will meet International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi on Monday accompanied by nuclear experts “for deep technical discussions.”
In September, the IAEA and Iran announced an agreement in Cairo that was supposed to pave the way towards full inspections and verification, but Tehran scrapped the agreement after Western powers reinstated UN sanctions on Iran.
