The IAEA is “working very dedicatedly to try to reestablish the indispensable dialogue” with Iran on inspection regimes and uranium enrichment, to facilitate a diplomatic solution.
“Inspections continue in Iran,” he noted, but “there is still a long way to go” before the Agency’s surveillance and verification activities can be fully restored.
He highlighted a “technical understanding” reached in Cairo in July aimed at reinstating inspections, stressing that “Now it is up to us – Iran and ourselves – to continue“to ensure the integrity of the nonproliferation regime in a region that has “seen enough suffering.”
Syria
Regarding Syria, Grossi reported that his visit to Damascus earlier this year generated “positive conversations” and that the IAEA is “reestablishing our inspection work there” to clarify unresolved questions about past nuclear activities.
A successful engagement, he said, could help reintegrate Syria “in a positive and constructive manner” within the international community.
Ukraine
The IAEA chief also highlighted the agency’s continued presence at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – the largest in Europe – where “the external (electrical) power supply had been interrupted”, posing a dangerous risk to the reactors’ cooling systems.
The IAEA is monitoring the situation in collaboration with Ukraine and Russia, which has helped “repair a very dangerous situation,” although it warned that conditions at the Russian-occupied site remained precarious.
Defend the nonproliferation regime
Grossi called for renewed international commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which he described as an anchor of “stability and certainty in a world that urgently needs it.”
He also highlighted the rapid growth of peaceful use of nuclear energy technology and the work of the IAEA to ensure public safety.
The Agency’s initiatives include training female workers in the nuclear industry through the Marie Curie and Lise Meitner fellowships and the deployment of nuclear technology for health, food safety and environmental protection.