LONDON
\nThe head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Tuesday underscored the urgency of resuscitating diplomatic efforts to limit Iran\u2019s nuclear program, saying the situation could quickly worsen if negotiations fail.
\nRafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the diplomatic effort \u201cis not at its best point,\u201d but it wasn\u2019t his place to declare whether the process was \u201cdead or alive.\u2019\u2019 However, he said progress is not impossible.
\n\u201cI hope to be able to re-set, restore, reinforce that indispensable dialogue,\u201d he said during a discussion at the Chatham House think tank. \u201cWithout that, things are going to get worse.\u2019\u2019
\nIran began rebuilding its nuclear stockpile after former US President Donald Trump abandoned a 2015 agreement that limited the Islamic Republic\u2019s atomic energy program. Talks on restoring the deal ended in August when western countries presented the \u201cfinal text\u201d of a roadmap for progress, which Iran has yet to accept.
\nGrossi warned last month that Iran had enough highly enriched uranium to build \u201cseveral\u201d nuclear weapons if it chose to do so. But diplomatic efforts aimed at once again limiting the country\u2019s atomic program seem more unlikely than ever as Tehran provides arms for Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine and as unrest shakes the Islamic Republic.
\nGrossi said the Middle East has a \u201cunique set of problems\u201d that will be aggravated if diplomatic efforts fail.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t see it in anybody\u2019s interest that there will be proliferation there. I think we would be aggravating \u2026 the already fragile situation,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not there yet. But we cannot really afford to fail.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Tuesday underscored the urgency of resuscitating diplomatic efforts to limit Iran\u2019s nuclear program, saying the situation could quickly worsen if negotiations fail. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the diplomatic effort \u201cis not at its best point,\u201d but it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-312643","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n