KARUIZAWA /Japan/, April 18. /TASS/. The Group of Seven foreign ministers favor a diplomatic solution to address the situation around Iran’s nuclear program, they said in a communique released on Tuesday.
"A diplomatic solution remains our preferred way to resolve international concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program," the G7 said. The foreign ministers said they had taken note of Iran’s intentions to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to implement verification and monitoring activities and provide the UN nuclear watchdog with access to three nuclear facilities.
"We call on Iran to uphold its safeguards obligations and stated commitments with prompt and concrete action," according to the communique.
In line with a joint statement by the IAEA and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) published on March 4, following a visit by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, Tehran agreed to allow the IAEA to implement further verification and monitoring activities and provide access to three nuclear cites. According to the document, the sides agreed on interactions in full conformity with "the rights and obligations" of the Islamic Republic and the competences of the IAEA.
At a news conference later that day, Grossi gave an affirmative answer to a reporters question about whether Iran would be ready to have cameras and other monitoring equipment reinstalled at nuclear facilities. But on the next day, AEOI Spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi denied Grossi’s statement in a comment to Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), and stressed that the installation of new surveillance cameras at Iranian nuclear facilities had not been discussed during the IAEA director general’s visit to Tehran.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany struck a nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 to address the crisis over its nuclear program. The previous President of the United States, Donald Trump, withdrew from the agreement in 2018. The current American leader, Joe Biden, has repeatedly signaled he is willing to bring the US back into the nuclear deal.