Iranian nuclear .. Tehran accuses the IAEA of politicization and Washington lifts sanctions on former Iranian officials

Tehran accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of politicization;

Because of its reports of undeclared Iranian nuclear activities, and as the parties to the nuclear deal prepare for a sixth round of negotiations in Vienna, Washington has lifted sanctions on former Iranian officials.

At the conclusion of the meetings of the IAEA Board of Governors, yesterday, Thursday, in Vienna, the Iranian delegate Kazem Gharibabadi sharply criticized the agency, describing it as politicized.

In a statement published shortly after the meetings ended, Abadi strongly criticized the IAEA's lack of interest in what he described as the Israeli nuclear threat, and its silence on the assassination of nuclear scientists, and what he called terrorist acts against his country's nuclear facilities.

The Iranian delegate said that the IAEA's latest report is a repetition of its previous report without addressing the latest developments and achievements between the two sides, especially during the past two months.

He added that this would hinder the continuation of bilateral cooperation based on goodwill between the two sides.

The Iranian diplomat also said that this report - which talked about the presence of traces of unauthorized nuclear materials in some locations - contradicts the record of Iranian cooperation with the agency and the achievements made in this regard, noting that the report has no credibility;

Because he relied on unreliable sources, as he put it.

Yesterday, Wednesday, the US mission in Vienna demanded that Iran provide an explanation for what was stated in the IAEA report, and some European Union countries called on Tehran to cooperate fully in this field.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera two days ago, the Director-General of the Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said that the agency had not achieved the progress it had aspired to with Iran on several issues, and he had said earlier that Iran was close to producing a nuclear weapon.

Vienna negotiations

Also in Vienna, the parties involved in the negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement are preparing for a sixth round, after previous rounds witnessed progress.

But it was not enough to reach an agreement.

Iran's chief negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, said on Thursday that it was too early to speculate whether this was the final round.

Araqchi stressed that the remaining points of contention are related to how all parties can return to the agreement.

For his part, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said yesterday, Thursday, that the Vienna negotiations on the Iranian nuclear agreement are being finalized.

Rouhani added that his country has failed economic sanctions once and will fail them again.

In this context, Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that the talk is now about returning to the full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program, according to the 2015 agreement, noting that providing conditions for the return of Iranian oil to the market is one of the main components of the agreement which is being prepared regarding the nuclear deal.

Lifting US sanctions

Meanwhile, Washington lifted sanctions it had imposed on former Iranian officials, but stressed that this step had nothing to do with the Vienna negotiations.

Yesterday, Thursday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price confirmed the decision to lift sanctions against these officials, including the former head of the National Iranian Oil Company, Ahmad Qalibani.

Price described the decision as "technical", and explained that it came after a change in the behavior or status of those subject to these sanctions, saying that Washington would continue to use all available means to restrict Iran's support for what he described as proxies and terrorist groups.

For its part, the US Treasury said that this step showed the US government's commitment to lifting sanctions in the event of a change.

On the other hand, Washington announced that it had imposed sanctions on entities and people, including Saeed Al-Jammal, who it said runs a network of illegal oil sales from Iran to finance the Houthis and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.