TEHRAN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Monday that his talks with Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), earlier in the day were "frank and constructive."
Gharibabadi made the remarks in a post on X while commenting on his meeting with Grossi in the Austrian capital Vienna.
Gharibabadi said during the meeting, they exchanged views on cooperation between Iran and the IAEA, the resolution of two outstanding issues, nuclear facility security, the latest developments surrounding Iran's nuclear issue, and the lifting of sanctions.
He added Iran and the IAEA had a "longstanding" history of cooperation, which allows for the resolution of remaining differences "provided that external political pressures on the agency are eliminated and the IAEA adopts an independent, technical, impartial, and professional approach."
Gharibabadi stressed that while safeguarding its national security and interests, "Iran remains committed to cooperating with the IAEA within the framework of its safeguards obligations."
Iran signed a nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.
However, the United States withdrew from the agreement in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments.
Efforts to revive the JCPOA commenced in April 2021 in Vienna. Despite multiple rounds of negotiations, no substantial progress has been reported since talks in August 2022. ■
