Iran Tells UN Nuclear Chief It’s Open to Talks, Rejects ‘Intimidation’

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi (left) shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi before their meeting in Tehran on November 14, 2024. © Atta Kenare, AFP

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi met with Iran's foreign minister on Thursday to begin critical nuclear talks in Tehran, just weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump assumes office, The Caspian Post reports citing France24.

During his first term in the White House from 2017 to 2021, Trump was the architect of a policy called "maximum pressure" which reimposed sweeping US economic sanctions that had been lifted under a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

Grossi, who arrived in Tehran late Wednesday, was expected "to negotiate with the country's top nuclear and political officials," Iran's official IRNA news agency reported.

Grossi described his meeting with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as "indispensable" in a post on X. Araghchi was Iran's chief negotiator in the talks that led to the 2015 deal.