Iran, IAEA agree on timeline to settle nuclear issues

VIENNA－Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog on Saturday agreed on a three-month plan that in the best case will resolve the long-stalled issue of uranium particles found at old but undeclared sites in the country, removing an obstacle to reviving the Iran nuclear deal.

Eleven months after indirect talks between Iran and the United States on salvaging the 2015 deal began in Vienna, delegates are trying to settle the final thorny issues.

One unresolved issue, diplomats say, has been Iran's demand for the closure of the International Atomic Energy Agency's investigation into uranium particles found at three apparently old but undeclared sites, which suggest that Iran had nuclear material there that it did not declare to the agency.

The agency issued a joint statement by its Director-General Rafael Grossi and President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami, after the two met in Teheran early on Saturday.

The statement said the Iranian agency will provide to the IAEA written explanations about nuclear materials found at undeclared sites in Iran by March 20. By June the IAEA chief will aim to report the conclusion on the issues after the agency's review.

The two sides agreed on the road map as negotiators in Vienna said they are close to reaching a deal on restoring the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The joint plan clears the way for a possible agreement to revive the 2015 deal, though Grossi emphasized that his conclusion would not necessarily be positive. Where anything other than full resolution would leave implementation of any agreement remains to be seen.

"It would be difficult to imagine you can have a cooperative relationship as if nothing had happened if the clarification of very important safeguards issues were to fail," Grossi said at a news conference when asked what the effect on reviving the deal would be if the issues were not closed.

Grossi also suggested the presentation of his conclusion would happen before "Re-Implementation Day", the day by which the bulk of US sanctions-lifting and Iranian implementation of nuclear restrictions will have happened under any future agreement, even though they are officially unrelated.

One of Iran's red lines at the final stage of the Vienna talks is that "the alleged cases should be closed forever and do not cause any inconvenience", Eslami said.

On Saturday Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian also underlined the need for an independent, professional and impartial approach by the IAEA to Iran, according to the foreign ministry website.

Agencies - Xinhua