Tehran – When thinking about Iran’s nuclear program and all the drama surrounding it, it is also easy to think of a list of names belonging to those who don’t care exactly whether things have moved south or not.
For example, Israel is at the top of this list. But of all suspects, there are numbers that are often overlooked by most observers. I’m Rafael Grossi, the United Nations nuclear watchdog group.
Iranian officials have long accused the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director of issuing unprofessional and political statements. Last year, Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami publicly urged UN officials to get out of it, reminding him that his role is technical rather than political.
New information obtained by the Tehran Times shows that Grossi’s Shenanigans were not due to political interests or potential hostilities towards Iran. Rather, he is trying to acquire something by rebuking Tehran. This is the reward promised to him, mainly by the European troika.
Grossi’s past wants the future
The 64-year-old owns a long career spanning both Argentine diplomacy and the United Nations. At one point within Argentina’s Foreign Ministry, Grossi managed to rise to the position of Foreign Minister. He then became involved with the United Nations for several years before marking his first relationship with the IAEA, and in 2013 became the organisational ambassador of his country.
In December 2019, after the US withdrawn from Iran’s nuclear trade (JCPOA) and revised it, Grossi took on the role of Director of the IAEA. Throughout his latest term, he has been fantasizing about bigger leaps and more prominent roles. The Tehran Times learned that one of Grossi’s dream positions is the executive director of the United Nations. This is promised to him by Germany, Britain and France.
Prior to the indirect nuclear talk of Iran and the United States in the second round, Grossi told the Frenchman Le Monde, who told the publication that Tehran “is not too far away” from having nuclear weapons. This comes after he said last month that the country can now develop six or seven nuclear bombs. None of these claims have been verified by Grossi’s own past reports. Nor has the IAEA inspectors who have been sturdyly monitoring Iran’s nuclear sites since 2015 have been tested.
It remains unclear how Grossi’s recent statement will affect ongoing progress in Iran and consultations. A source familiar with the issue told the Tehran Times that the IAEA chief’s main concern lies elsewhere. He is reportedly tasked with demonizing Iran and its nuclear programme further to justify critical reports on the country’s nuclear activities later this year. Such a report would provide legitimacy that threatens the activation of the “snapback” mechanism and revive pre-JCPOA sanctions against Iran. Currently, only E3 (France, Germany, UK) has the political will and practical means to cause this snapback.
Frustrated by the exclusion from the indirect nuclear talks that began on April 12, E3 aims to harness the threat of snapback sanctions to pressure both Iran and the US to include it in negotiations. London, Berlin and Paris provided Grossi with their support in his ambition to become the next UN Secretary-General in exchange for his support in achieving this objective.
According to a high-ranking source speaking to the Tehran Times, Iran has always maintained close ties and cooperation with the IAEA. But Grossi’s misconduct risks ruining everything that both parties worked, sources said.