Nournews: As the second round of Iran-US indirect negotiations approaches, the presence of Rafael Grossi in Tehran has found political and technical aspects. The trip not only is evaluated as a continuation of the Agency’s technical attempts to pursue the substances of the 2023 resolution of the Board of Governors, but it can also act as a weight in the scale of negotiations — a weight that, depending on Grossi’s behavior, can boost the path of diplomacy or, just like in the past, derail it.

Intricate and intelligent irony by Seyed Abbas Araghchi in his meeting with Grossi — who said the Agency needs a “director general of peace” — carries a vivid and double message: the vitality of the Agency’s role as a neutral entity amidst the destructive triggers of some international players, and second, an explicit but diplomatic criticism of Grossi’s past trends, which, more than being technical, had become the translation of the political demands of certain countries. Araghchi also emphasized that “I tend to trust Grossi’s mission to keep the Agency away from politics.” An expression which apparently mirrors hope in correcting the path, but in its depth, warns against the repetition of past behaviors.

In the meantime, the path ahead of the Agency is clear but full of challenges: whether Grossi accepts to organize its reports based on field realities and Iran’s non-stop cooperation, and takes distance from political decisions, or, with the continuation of unilateral trends, causes the intensification of crisis and begins a new chapter of tensions. His final report by spring 2025 is in a position that can have a significant effect on the fate of the nuclear agreement and Iran-US relations in the future.

Due to this, selecting a neutral path by the Agency is not a preference, but a vital necessity for international security. The meeting of Grossi with Mohammad Eslami, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, was held on April 17 with a focus on technical aspects of the trip. However, the experiences from the past years have shown that separating the field of technical parts from policy requires managerial courage and determination more than merely a bureaucratic structure. Eslami has emphasized full cooperation of Iran with the Agency and its supervisory collaboration based on the Safeguards Agreement. However, the lack of reflection of these collaborations at the managerial levels in the Agency has raised important questions about the nature and goals of some of these reports.

At the advent of summer 1404 (2025), which will be a game-changing period for the future of the JCPOA and Iran’s international position as the Sunset Clause begins, neither party wants to underestimate the role of international arbitral institutions. However, the first condition of playing such a role is maintaining neutrality and staying away from double standards. If Grossi wants to be truly the “Director General of Peace,” he must reflect reports that truly show Iran’s cooperation and pave the way for a multilateral and sustainable agreement.