'Jury is still out' on US-Iran nuclear talks outcome, says IAEA chief Rafael Grossi

Published on 28/05/2025 - 18:06 GMT+2

The "jury is still out" connected whether nan US and Iran will scope a woody complete Tehran's advancing atomic programme, but nan continued negotiations are a bully sign, nan caput of nan UN's atomic agency has said.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, nan director-general of nan International Atomic Energy Agency, made nan comments astatine his organisation's office successful Vienna connected Wednesday, days aft nan latest information of talks betwixt nan 2 countries came to a close.

"For nan moment, nan assemblage is still out. We don't cognize whether there's going to beryllium an statement aliases not," Grossi said.

He stressed, however, that nan ongoing speech is positive.

"I deliberation that is an denotation of a willingness to travel to an agreement. And I deliberation that, successful and by itself, is thing possible."

Grossi said he talks regularly pinch nan US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and is successful almost regular connection pinch Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi.

Tehran and Washington person truthful acold held 5 rounds of talks successful Italy and Oman, pinch nan negotiations mediated by nan Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi. A sixth information has yet to beryllium set.

"The 5th information of Iran US talks person concluded coming successful Rome pinch immoderate but not conclusive progress," al-Busaidi wrote connected X connected Friday.

"We dream to explain nan remaining issues successful nan coming days, to let america to proceed towards nan communal extremity of reaching a sustainable and honourable agreement," he added.

The talks activity to limit Iran's atomic programme successful speech for nan lifting of immoderate of nan crushing economical sanctions nan US has imposed.

President Donald Trump has many times threatened to launch aerial strikes targeting Iran's atomic accommodation if a woody isn't reached.

Iranian officials meantime progressively warn they could prosecute a atomic limb pinch their stockpile of uranium enriched to adjacent weapons-grade levels.

Meanwhile, Israel has threatened to onslaught Iran’s atomic accommodation connected their ain if it feels threatened, further complicating location tensions already spiked by the warfare successful Gaza.

The landmark 2015 atomic woody pinch world powers, known arsenic nan Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), capped Tehran’s enrichment level astatine 3.67% and reduced its uranium stockpile to 300 kilograms.

That level is capable for atomic powerfulness plants, but acold beneath weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Since nan woody collapsed successful 2018 pinch Trump's unilateral withdrawal of nan US from nan accord, Iran has abandoned each limits connected its programme and enriched uranium to up to 60% purity, a short, method measurement from weapons-grade levels.