TEHRAN: The Iranian Foreign Ministry has requested that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) "remain on the path of technical cooperation with Iran." According to reports, the UN nuclear watchdog should "not enable some countries to push their political leanings and ambitions in the name of the organisation," according to Saeed Khatibzadeh, the ministry's spokesman.

Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is slated to arrive in Tehran on Monday evening. Grossi tweeted ahead of his trip, "I expect to build a successful and cooperative channel for direct dialogue so that the IAEA can resume important verification efforts in the nation." According to Khatibzadeh, the visit has a precise agenda specified by Iran, with a focus on the existing tensions between Tehran and the agency.

"We've always attempted to resolve these difficulties within the technical framework, and we've encouraged the agency to forward the work within that same framework," he said, adding that "this trip is a step in that direction." Sabotage and terrorist assaults on Iranian nuclear facilities, according to Khatibzadeh, have had a "major influence" on "certain technical parameters," which the IAEA is "fully aware" of.

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