Nournews: Grossi welcomed the U.S. president’s remarks about his willingness to reach a new agreement with Iran and acknowledged: "I know that Iran wants an agreement."

Without mentioning former U.S. President Donald Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran, despite Iran’s willingness to reach a new deal and its adherence to all safeguard commitments, the IAEA chief claimed: "The progress of Iran’s nuclear program makes the problems bigger, not smaller."

Once again, without addressing U.S. obstructionism and its anti-Iranian actions, including the imposition of illegal and unilateral sanctions, Grossi called for "engagement" between Washington and Tehran.

He stated: "Our failure to move toward negotiations is problematic. We need to take action and move toward talks."

Grossi admitted that he had not spoken with officials from the Trump administration or Trump himself but expressed hope that this would change in the near future.

Reacting to reports about alleged message exchanges between Iran and the U.S. through third-party countries, he said: "I have spoken seriously with others about this issue—there is no backchannel communication between Iran and the U.S."

The IAEA chief also reiterated his support for the U.S. president’s willingness to reach a new agreement with Iran, again stating: "I know that Iran wants an agreement."

When asked by Norman about the conditions of a potential deal between Iran and world powers—including broader IAEA access to sites not covered under the JCPOA—Grossi responded: "Different people have different conditions for an agreement. The next agreement will be different, but I am not aware of whether it will be broader."

Grossi also mentioned that the IAEA’s comprehensive report on Iran would be released before June. He added: "It would be a good idea to visit Iran before publishing this report. The level of dialogue and engagement with Tehran and Iran’s Foreign Minister (Seyed Abbas Araghchi) is very good."

Earlier, Reuters had also reported, citing Grossi, that Araghchi had invited the IAEA Director General to visit Tehran again during their last conversation.