TEHRAN, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi arrived in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Wednesday evening for talks with the country's high-ranking officials, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Grossi was welcomed by Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), upon arrival at Mehrabad International Airport, the report said.
The IAEA chief is scheduled to hold talks with AEOI President Mohammad Eslami on Thursday morning and attend a joint press conference with him following their meeting, according to Tasnim.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said on the social media platform X on Monday that Grossi would also meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi during his two-day visit.
The trip is part of ongoing interactions between Iran and the IAEA, following a joint statement issued last year aimed at strengthening cooperation, Gharibabadi said.
Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
However, the United States withdrew from the agreement in May 2018, reinstating sanctions and prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments.
Efforts to revive the JCPOA commenced in April 2021 in Vienna, Austria, but despite multiple rounds of negotiations, no substantial progress has been reported since the last talks in August 2022. ■
