"If Iran wants normalcy, it must be transparent." Israel today

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency, has recently had particularly busy days.

Just before a possible signing of a new nuclear deal with Iran, and while nuclear power plants are being bombed in Ukraine, Grossi is struggling to maintain the world's nuclear balance.

As someone who must actually examine Iran's nuclear program, he says, with the caution required by his status, that "Iran's explanations are simply unsatisfactory."

Grossi, 61, tries to walk between the drops.

Between mysterious explosions in the sensitive facilities and the regime's diplomatic illusions, the IAEA director general found himself at the center of the "war between the wars," the shadow war between Jerusalem and Tehran.

The conversation with Grossi takes place against the background of the organization's crisis of trust with the Iranian regime, after in 2019 IAEA inspectors found molecules of enriched uranium at two unreported sites in the country, and Iran preferred to ignore and the explanations they provided were science fiction. "More than necessary," Grossi admits in a conversation with "Israel Today" in the organization's offices in Vienna. "The process itself has not brought good results so far.

This worries us, because as you mentioned - we located traces of enriched uranium, meaning uranium that underwent a very specific process from one unreported place, a place where nuclear material was never supposed to be found.

So our questions for Iran were clear, simple and very transparent: if there was nuclear material here - where is it?

If there was equipment - where is it and what will be done with it?

Because we have no records for that, "Grossi explains.

According to Grossi, in the coming week his organization is expected to receive a first pulse of information, with new answers from the Iranians to his questions.

What went wrong with the explanations the Iranians have given so far?

"To strip it off and not get into a technical and twisted explanation, I would say that the explanations we received are technically inadequate. The explanations we received about the presence of those particles on the same sites do not reflect reality."

Negotiations with IBA are stuck

Referring to talks leading up to the signing of a new nuclear deal after months of negotiations between the powers and Iran, Grossi says it is hard to imagine anyone being able to reach a major agreement such as the one under the JCPOA (the powers' agreement on the Iranian nuclear program from 2015). Of the negotiations with the IAEA there is a blockage, a complete dead end. "

Grossi notes that if the previous agreement is indeed revived, the 60 percent enrichment process, which he defined as "practical military rank" - will not be implemented.

"Iran could enrich to a level of 3.67 percent under the nuclear deal, not 60 percent. So there is a huge gap. In that regard, the JCPOA can steer things and provide us with a great capacity for oversight that we have lost. I want to point out: our inspectors are in Iran 365 days. Per year, 24 hours a day, but the JCPOA allows the IAEA activities with a much wider range than the usual supervisory agreements. "

Do you believe Iran's nuclear program is for peace?

"Look, I think judging intentions is very difficult, maybe impossible. What I need is for Iran to work with us and give all the necessary answers. My position as an international factor should always be balanced: I do not suspect anyone, but I must monitor everything.

There will be no weapons?

Prove to me

According to Grossi, "When some people say, 'No, Iran will not have nuclear weapons because it is anti-religious,' I respect that, but they have to prove it to me. Just as others say, 'I'm sure Iran is developing a bomb,' Evidence for this - and for that IBA "exists".

What should be in the new agreement?

"Everything should be clear and transparent in the agreement. I believe that Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Moscow or Beijing will demand, Euro, want to be sure that when entering into such an important agreement with Iran, there will be nothing vague, nothing. "This is a hidden thing in this country. I say the same thing to the Iranians, what I told them unequivocally: if you want normalcy, you have to be transparent."

Let's go to the pessimistic scenario.

What will happen if Israel attacks Iran's nuclear facilities?

"I hope this never happens. I always believe in diplomacy, in negotiations. Any attack on a nuclear facility is prohibited under international law. This is a scenario that will also be examined in the context of the conflict in Ukraine: an attack on a nuclear power plant could cause uncontrolled radiation." "It becomes a threat not only for the attacked country but also, as in the case of Chernobyl, these are effects that cross borders quickly. I believe that nuclear facilities should not be set as military targets."

Do you understand Israel's concern about the Iranian nuclear program?

"Of course. I spoke with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on these issues and with the leaders of other countries. Iran's issue is being addressed in agencies like North Korea, Iraq, Syria and what is currently happening in Ukraine. Clearly in the Middle East the issue of nuclear weapons development is a constant concern. "The worries and concerns. My duty as IAEA director general is to give the explanations. I found in the prime minister a very sophisticated interlocutor, who understands well the problems with Iran. There is an open dialogue with him, and we will continue to have it, of course."

The interview was held at the studios of the international news channel i24NEWS and will be broadcast tonight at 20:00.

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